The Straw Hat's Pyro
by MisterMarchy
Summary: Igneel left Natsu when he was 7. Natsu never understood why Igneel left that day. All he knew was to wait for him and train to get stronger. 10 years later and Igneel still has not returned. With Natsu on the brink of giving up on seeing his father again, a pirate ship stops by at his island. This encounter would change Natsu's life forever.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone and welcome to my very first ever fanfiction! Please go easy on me as I never have written a serious fanfiction before. Please make sure to leave a review so you can give me feedback on it as it would be a huge help! By the way this story takes place after the Syrup Village arc but before the Baratie arc. Thank you again and enjoy "The Straw Hat's Pyro" :)**

_10 years ago on an island in the East Blue_

"DAAAAAAAD" a small 7 year old boy with pink hair and white scarf shouts out to the sky with a desperate look on his face. "I- I don't understand... Why did you leave me?" the boy cries out with tears streaming down his face. "Is it because I haven't been getting any stronger?" the boy asked himself as he thought back to the extreme training his foster dragon father made him do at such a young age.

The small boy wipes the tears off his face and begins to scream. "IF THAT'S IT THEN I PROMISE I WILL GET STRONGER UNTIL THE DAY YOU COME BACK! I WILL BECOME STRONGER THAN ANY DRAGON IN THE WORLD! I WILL BECOME STRONG SO WE CAN BE A FAMILY AGAIN! I PROMISE THAT OR MY NAME ISN"T NATSU DRAGNEEL!" the boy now known as Natsu began to cry again.

"Dad... please come back... I want to see you again."

From that day onward Natsu began to train and train making his dragon slayer powers strong and teaching himself some new moves such as the "Fire Dragon Roar" or the "Fire Dragon Wing Attack"

_10 years later..._

FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST! Natsu shouted as he punched a huge tree with his flaming fist, destroying every part of it until it was nothing but ash.

Natsu grinned and laughed. "HAHAHA TAKE THAT YA STUPID TREE!" Natsu's stomach began to grumble. "Damn I'm hungry... Welp better catch some fish!" Natsu said as he grabbed his home made fishing rod. "It sucks that all I can eat is fish out here... I would eat those weird looking animals on the other side of the island but that weird treasure box man says they are his nakama so sadly that just can't be." Natsu said as he looked down into the river, staring at his own reflection.

"It's been 10 years since Igneel left..." Natsu frowned. "Maybe he will never come back... maybe I should just give-" Natsu's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed a pirate ship making its way to the island. The pirate ship didn't seem very threatening as it was just a small caravel with what looked like a lamb or sheep as its figurehead but Natsu couldn't see far ahead enough to tell. The detail Natsu did notice however was the giant Straw Hat that was on the giant skull painted on its sail.

_"What a weird pirate ship"_ Natsu thought. _"Ah well it's not a big deal as that treasure box guy always manages to scare off any pirate that comes through here with that "Island God" crap. _Natsu shrugged so he didn't think much of it at the time.

However little did Natsu know...

That those pirates would change his life forever.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I'm glad to see that a few of you enjoyed the Prologue! I can't wait to continue this story I have planned out for you all! So I did have one question in the reviews which is how strong Natsu will be in this story. Well to answer that he will be as strong as he was in the very beginning of Fairy Tail but he will definitely grow in strength later on with the rest of the Strawhats as the story progresses. Also in terms of strength with the crew, Natsu in this story will be about equal in strength as Zoro for the entire story. Hope that answers that question! Anywho I hope you all enjoy Chapter 1 of this story! :)**

_On the Going Merry..._

It was a pretty exciting day for the Strawhat Pirates as they had just acquired their pirate ship the "Going Merry" as well as a new crew member "Usopp" who was a very timid and cowardly man with a long nose but does at times (only sometimes, sorry God Usopp ;-;) pulls through for his crew. Usopp was resting a bit on the side of the ship after being exhausted from painting their jolly roger on their sail.

Right beside Usopp was Zoro who was taking a nap (Which he does all the time). Zoro had green hair, a white shirt, black pants, 3 earrings on his left ear, as well as 3 swords on his waist. Zoro uses the technique "3 Sword Style" when fighting. He is also the Vice Captain of the Strawhat Pirates.

The one who was looking at the map while steering the ship was the navigator Nami. She's an 18 year old girl who has orange hair, wearing her blue and white striped shirt. According to her the only things she cares about are money and tangerines.

Finally the one who is sitting on top of the ship's figurehead is 17 year old Monkey D. Luffy aka "Straw Hat Luffy" the Captain of the Strawhat Pirates. He was wearing his regular red vest with jeans and sandals. He is often seen with a scar under his left eye. He was sitting in anticipation for the next adventure they would be on in his pirate journey.

Luffy then begins to see an island surrounded by dark clouds. Luffy with an excited grin on his face shouts, "OI EVERYONE! I SEE AN ISLAND! A REALLY COOL LOOKING ONE WITH DARK CLOUDS AND STUFF!"

Nami looks up from her map and looks at the island. She then takes out some binoculars and stares at it deeply and then back at her map. She then comes to a realization. "Wait a second... that's the place!" Nami shouts.

Hey, what island is that? Is it super cool?!" Luffy eagerly asks. Nami lowers the binoculars and looks over her shoulder to face the rest of the crew gathered around her. "The legendary Treasure Island." "You mean the Treasure Island?" Usopp repeats. "Even I've heard of that place!"

Nami frowns slightly. "Yeah. I'm not surprised. This place is famous the world over and so are the crazy stories about it." "What crazy stories?" Luffy wonders out loud, holding onto his hat as the wind suddenly picks up. "Legend has it that whoever is dumb enough to sail close to the island incurs a god's wrath." She answers with a devious smile.

A crack of thunder echoes across the now darkened sky followed by a bolt of lightning running through the clouds and a downpour of rain. The sudden change in weather is followed by Usopp screams. The ship begins to rock around violently. Everyone grabs whatever's nearby to stay upright.

"Now we know the stories are true, guys!" Usopp shouts over the roar of the storm. "This is a god's wrath!"

"I think that sounds pretty cool." Luffy comments, holding his hat down against the strong winds.

Usopp starts to worry. "Hey, wait! We're not gonna—!" But the long-nosed teen's worries were stomped as Nami cuts him off. "You bet we are!" She states.

The storm continues to go on as we sail closer to the mysterious island. Luffy taking his favorite spot on the ship's figurehead. "Let's go! To Treasure Island!" He shouts excitedly.

The Strawhats begin to make their way to Treasure Island and after about 20 minutes or so they finally land. They then begin to walk through the island's jungle.

Hey, this place is creepy." Usopp broadcasts his opinion. "Yeah, so?" Zoro replies in an uncaring tone.

"It's said that somewhere on this island rest an unimaginable fortune just waiting to be found." Nami starts to explain. "Supposedly, many pirates have landed here in the past, but they all fled in absolute terror before they ever got the chance to look for it."

"'Absolute terror'?" Luffy echoes.

"I'd be afraid too. They say one pirate's face turned into a boar's face. And another pirate's mustache stretched out like a couple of snakes and strangled him." Nami goes on to list some of the stories about this very island, as they continued to trek through the island. Usopp was turning blue in terror at the stories. "But that's not true, right?"

"Well, I'm sure that some of those stories are a bit of an exaggeration." She shrugs.

The crew continued to walk for another good 10 minutes until Zoro let out a big yawn and began to walk away from his 3 friends.

I'm tired." The swordsman lays on the ground, arms behind his head. "Nap time." He says like it's the most natural thing in the world. As soon as he's laid down on his back he starts snoring away.

Nami and Usopp sweatdrop at Zoro's lack of concern where he sleeps. "How can he sleep in such a creepy place?" Usopp asked. Nami then turns to Usopp and says, He's either dumb, or he's got nerves of steel."

Luffy who was ignoring what was going on behind him began to crouch over a bush and to his surprise a hybrid of a snake and a rabbit came out. Its body was of a snake's, but it has the long ears of a rabbit on its head and white fur covering its head and the top portion of his body.

Usopp suddenly screams again as a wolf looking creature with a rooster's tail and comb on its head began to lick his hand.

Nami then follows Usopp's scream as a small panda with bat wings drops from above next to her, hanging upside down from a vine it's still clinging to. The two leap away from the creatures and fall to the ground, well more so Usopp as Nami winds up landing on top of him.

What's going on?" Nami questions as they all observe the numerous pairs of glowing, red eyes staring at them from all directions, with Zoro still managing to sleep through everything. "Leave now!" A male voice echoes from the forest. "Who's there?!" Luffy demands.

"Leave now!" The voice repeats.

"Guys, where's that voice coming from?" Nami asks.

"I am the vengeful Island God!" The voice announces. "Leave at once if you value your lives!"

"'Island God'?" Luffy mumbles.

Wait. You guys are pirates, right?" The 'Island God' asks.

"Well, yeah." Luffy replies.

"AH! I knew it!" The 'Island God' growls.

"Why would a god need to ask something like that?!" Nami demands.

"I don't know—I-I mean, take one more step into the forest. The instant you do you will instantly receive my divine punishment and meet your doom; Which is my punishment! Wait . . .uh . . ." The 'Island God' begins to lose his wording.

"This guy is really weird" comments Nami.

"Yeah" Luffy agreed. "What the hell is his problem?"

"What did you say, Straw Hat boy?" The 'Island God' snarls. The gleaming, red eyes from the forest come out from the shadows to reveal more odd mixed-up animals like the few they saw before. There's the same snake-rabbit Luffy saw earlier as well as a lion-pig, zebra-ostrich, gorilla-hippo, the wolf-rooster, panda-bat, kangaroo-rhinos, and lots more of them.

"What are these things?" Usopp shakily asks.

"They used to be humans. They came looking for treasure, but all they found was my wrath!" The 'Island God' bellows as the creatures reveal themselves.

Usopp kneels, one knee to the ground, and put his hands together in a praying position. "Oh! You transformed them? Then you are a god."

"Look at all these weird things." Luffy says as he stares at the kangaroo-rhino and zebra-ostrich, then picking up the lion-pig, holding it up close to his face. "So this thing is a pig right?" Luffy asked unsure.

"Could be a lion." Nami answers, also unsure.

After a few seconds of just staring at each other, the lion-pig opens its mouth to reveal sharp teeth and bites onto Luffy's face. Luffy tries to pull the creature away, but ends up stretching his face along with it. It soon lets go and Luffy drops it and cradles his face.

You stretchy freak of nature! What are you?!" The 'Island God' shouts.

"One time I ate a Devil Fruit, so now I'm a rubber person." Luffy explains, emphasizing this by stretching his cheek outwards.

"Yeah, right! A Devil Fruit? I heard those same stupid stories back when I was a pirate." The 'Island God' skeptically replies.

"'Back when you were a pirate'?" Nami echoes.

"I mean, uh— . . .No! I wasn't reminiscing about the old days. Enough of that kind of talk! I don't want to hear about the old days, got it?!" The 'Island God' says more to himself than to the Strawhats.

"Are you nuts? You're the one that brought it up." Luffy points out.

"You faker! You sound too dumb to be a god!" Nami shouts.

"Shut up!" The 'Island God' snaps. "If you won't leave, than prepare for my divine judgement!"

All of a sudden, wooden stakes begin to be launched at the 4 pirates. Luffy managed to dodge several of them while one nearly took off 'Captain' Usopp's long nose. Nami manages to dodge every stake luckily. However Zoro, somehow miraculously, manages to remain unscathed (the stakes hitting everything but him) and still asleep and unaware of all the action. After the stakes had launched a bucket of boulders is dumped on Luffy's head from the trees above him. However being a rubber man that he is, Luffy is remained unaffected by the heavy numerous objects.

"You're really pushing your luck, god." Luffy smirks.

"How are you not dead?!" the 'Island God' spats out angrily.

Luffy then notices a shrub jumping up and down behind him.

"There you are." Luffy says as he faces the moving shrub.

"Don't move." The 'Island God' orders as a barrel of a pistol can be seen peaked through the shrub. "I said don't move!" He demands again as Luffy moves closer to the talking 'shrub'. A bullet fires off and the bullet causes Luffy to stretch out. Nami and Usopp scream as Luffy flexes and sends the bullet flying out of harm's way.

"No. That can't be!" The 'Island God' cries.

"Hey, Island God. Even mortals know bullets can't hurt a rubber man." Nami remarks.

"Maybe not, but I still hate them." Luffy adds.

"You're some kind of monster." The 'Island God' shouts. The moving shrub tosses the pistol before taking off.

Luffy then began to chase after the talking bush until he comes to a dead end at a cliff.

"Where'd he go?" Luffy questions, looking around for any sign of the odd, walking, talking shrub.

All of a sudden, Luffy hears a loud noise behind him and turns around to see a bush but is unmoving as of now. Luffy begins to walk closer to the bush with Nami and Usopp right behind him.

"Could it be the 'Island God'?" Suggests Usopp, hesitantly.

The shrub sweat drops all of a sudden and a pair of feet spring out from the bottom of the box and takes off in a sprint.

"It's moving." Nami announces in shock as the shrub runs away from them . . .and smacks right into the tree.

The shrub, now knocked on its back, its feet continue to move up and down trying to get upright, but only wiggle uselessly at this point. The sun emerges from behind the storm clouds and reveals a face in the bush and it's not actually shrubbery, but the man's green hair in the shape of an afro and the man himself seems to be stuck in the chest.

"Stand me up." The man demands irritably at our lack of action.

"Stand me up already."

"It's a person." Nami gasps.

"Awesome! He's like a talking scrub brush." Luffy chuckles.

"That's it?" Usopp crosses his arms. "You're not even a minor deity. You're more like a box."

"Come on, stand me up now." The shrub man is begging at this point.

They then bring the bush man to his feet. Then the shrub man faces the crew and says, "Uh . . .I'll let you off with a warning this time." With that the man takes off running again.

"No wait!" Luffy calls as he manages to grab the chest as the man takes off. Luffy's arm starts to stretch as the man gets further and further away and not a second later, Luffy goes flying at the man and the two collide which make the both of them go over the cliffside. Luffy however manages to grab onto a tree branch on the wall of the cliff, and with his other hand still having ahold of the shrub man the both of them slingshot into the sky. After the two land back onto the ground safely, the pirates begin to question the shrub man who they now know is named Gaimon.

"You seem pretty popular eh Mr. 'Island God'" Nami comments at him.

"I've never seen a person stuffed inside a treasure chest before. You're like a real live jack-in-the-box." Luffy adds with a smile.

"Yes, ironically, I am in fact in a box and my name is—You idiot! I'm a person not a toy!" Gaimon quickly changes his tone to yell at Luffy. "I've been stranded alone on this island and stuck in this contemptible box for twenty years."

"THAT LONG?!" Nami exclaims! "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just take a look at me. "I've got a beard like a wild man, and in all that time you're the first people I've had a conversation with. Can you understand how painful that is?" He asks the pirates.

"That's ridiculous." Luffy states bluntly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Gaimon shouts at Luffy.

All of a sudden Zoro comes back to greet everyone as it looks like he had just woke up from his nap.

"There you guys are." Zoro says with a yawn after just waking up. "I've been looking all over for you guys."

"How the hell did you manage to sleep through everything that happened?" Nami asks.

Zoro ignores her question and takes Usopp's thermos that he was drinking and downs the rest of its contents. After taking a long swig, his eyes widen as he finally takes notice of Gaimon. "AHH! What the heck is that?" Zoro screams as he falls from the rock he was sitting on.

"Check it out. He's in a treasure chest." Luffy jabs his thumb in Gaimon' direction. "Like a jack in the box, but real."

Yes, ironically, I am in fact in a box and my name is—You idiot! We've already been through all that!" Gaimon screeches before Luffy steps on the back of the chest and tries to separate Gaimon from the box.

"Zoro, give me a hand." Luffy demands. Zoro joins in trying to yank Gaimon out of the chest. While it's a nice gesture, the both of them are bringing Gaimon more harm than help. "Sorry, I'm afraid you're stuck." Luffy states the obvious, wiping his forehead with his arm.

"Don't be stupid. I've been stuck inside this blasted treasure chest for so many years now that it's slowly become a part of my body. If you try to break it, you'll break me too." Gaimon explains.

"You're a strange little man." Zoro comments as he crosses his arms.

"Ugh . . ." Gaimon groans. "Alright guys, enough about me. Who are you? You're not like any other pirates who've come around here, that's for sure."

"I'm Luffy. I'm going to be King of the Pirates." Luffy proudly proclaims.

"You're what?" Gaimon gasps, his eyes widening.

"I'm gonna get the One Piece and then I'm going to be King of the Pirates." Luffy continues.

"The One Piece? Don't tell me you idiots are actually planning to sail on the Grand Line." Gaimon questions.

"Yep. We got a chart right here." Luffy answer, holding out said chart in front of him and in view of Gaimon.

"Don't be such a fool. The Grand Line's a graveyard. I once saw a group of pirates who managed to escape from the horrible place, and I'll never forget it. It was an awful sight." Gaimon reminisces. "They were just hollow shells of the men they used to be. There's no telling what horrors they witnessed in that ghastly place. Not one among them tried to speak."

Even if we do somehow make it to the Grand Line, the best idea would be to get as much treasure as we can and then escape." Nami states.

"You go ahead and do that. I'm gonna find the One Piece." Luffy replies.

"Where do you get all that confidence of yours?" Nami asks.

"Just wait and see! I will definitely get the One Piece!" Luffy proudly claims once again.

"Whatever you say." Nami singsongs.

"You're me." Gaimon says all of a sudden. "You're exactly like me. You even look like me. We could be twins."

"How can he look like you?" Nami questions.

"Young man, I understand about the pursuit of your dream. When I was a younger man, we used to feel the same way." Gaimon continues on.

"'We'?" Luffy questions.

"We were willing to put our lives on the line to search for treasure. It was that single-minded seal that changed my life forever."

"Wait, slow down." Nami pleads. "What are you talking about?"

"It happened twenty years ago. I was a much younger man then. My fellow pirates and I landed on this island with a single purpose: To find the treasure that was said to rest here." He then tells them of how the entire crew of 200 men searched the island for an entire month and found nothing but one empty treasure chest. Gaimon was the only one at the time who noticed that not one of the men looked on a steep mountain top. And would you guess it was in that very spot where no one dared to look, no one aside from Gaimon. "I couldn't believe my own eyes." Gaimon had tried to get his crew's attention but the piece of mountainside he was gripping crumbles and he wound up falling into the single empty treasure chest. "That's when I got stuck in this chest. When I came to, my crew was already far out to sea. And after all this time, the fortune I found but only saw for an instant has never strayed from my lonely old mind. Pirates have come here countless times to search for my treasure, but fortunately my friends here help me scare them away. That's how I've kept my treasure safe and sound for the past twenty years. It's my treasure!"

Luffy nods emphatically with a grunt. "No question. It's yours alright."

"You know, I think we can help you out. Gaimon, why don't we get the treasure down for you." Nami offers, actually denying a chance at more treasure.

Gaimon gasps. "Wait! Do you mean it?"

"Yeah" Luffy says.

Nami." Usopp grumbles.

"Hey, aren't you a thief that only steals from pirates?" Luffy recalls.

"How rude! I am a thief, but I have a conscience." Nami argues.

Gaimon is now leading the Strawhats to the very same mountain where the treasure lies. The wolf-rooster and lion-pig leading the way of a massive turtle with the black and white spots of a cow Gaimon called to give them a lift. Even a few of the other animals joined them in their short trip, like an odd pink bird and the panda-bat.

"It's here?" Luffy asks.

"Yes, this is the place. It's all up there." Gaimon confirms. He pauses for a moment as everyone smiles at him. "The time has finally come. It's a great day! Get to it Straw Hat!"

Luffy grins. "You got it!" "GUM GUM ROCKET!" Luffy uses his powers to stretch himself up to the hill.

Hey, the chests! Do you see them!?" Gaimon calls up with anticipation.

"Hey!" Nami shouts.

"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp yells.

"What's going on?!" The navigator shouts again.

Luffy picks up one of the chests and closes the top and bring it in view of the others down below. "I found 'em. Six treasure chests." Luffy declares not looking down to face everyone.

"Yes. Good work!" Gaimon laughs. "Now it's mine. I get my treasure. Come on, toss it down. I wanna see it. Go ahead and toss 'em down you two! Let's have a good look at it!" He laughs again.

"No way!" Luffy states.

"No way?!" Gaimon repeats.

"I'm not gonna hand them over to you. Too bad!" Luffy yells.

"What the hell Luffy!?" Nami screams.

"It doesn't matter..." Gaimon says.

Nami and Usopp argue with him how it's not alright and that he deserves the treasure after guarding it for twenty years.

"Strawhat... you are such a good person!" Gaimon cries out. "I always had an inkling that this might be the case." "I tried not to think about it, but still. They're empty! Aren't they?!" Gaimon cries out.

"Yep, every last one of them." Luffy sadly confirms.

"It happens all the time with treasures that have maps leading to them. You set out on a quest to find it, but someone else got to it first. That's the kind of risk you have to take when you're a treasure hunting pirate. You can waste a whole lifetime searching and never once touch treasure. Plenty of pirates live like that. Believe me." Gaimon sobs.

Luffy breaks out into laughter. "Try not to be too upset old man. It's a good thing we came along after twenty years. Thirty years later and you might have been dead." He replies in his blunt fashion.

"Oh, Straw Hat." Gaimon calls back.

"Since this treasure hunt's a bust you're gonna need something else to fill your time. Why don't you join up with us and search for the One Piece?" Luffy offers.

"What? Really? You're asking me?" Gaimon questions. "Oh . . .I know how I must look to you; Other people wouldn't even speak to me, but you were kind. It's been so many years since I've had a friend." Gaimon sobs once more. "Thank you!"

_Later..._

"Are you sure you want to stay on the island, Gaimon?" Luffy asks.

"Yes, I'm sure." There's something here far more valuable than treasure that I feel I must protect." Gaimon reasons.

Nami and Usopp look to him in surprise. "Worth more than gold?" Usopp questions.

"For the past twenty years, these guys have stood by my side through thick and thin. I can't leave 'em." The wolf-rooster and lion-pig lick Gaimon's cheeks causing him to start laughing and the other animals to let out their odd cries. "Now that I know there's no treasure I somehow finally feel free. Without that heavy burden, I can concentrate on things that really matter to me. And besides, after all these years I've grown fond of this little box."

"Too bad. You're a neat guy. Pretty cool for a scrub brush." Luffy comments.

"The weird creatures here are your true friends." Zoro adds.

"Yep. He's the weirdest of them all." Luffy remarks.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Gaimon yells before they all started laughing.

Luffy begins to turn around. "Thats a shame though. I was hoping I would be able to find a new nakama here."

"Actually Strawhat..." Gaimon begins. "I'm not really supposed to tell you this but I trust you."

"What is it?" Luffy asks.

"I'm not the only human who lives on this island."

"EHHHH?" the four pirates shout.

"WHO IS HE? WHO IS HE?" Luffy asks getting excited at the thought of a new nakama.

"Well we don't really talk much. He keeps to himself." Gaimon starts. He doesn't like to be bothered so he stays on the other half of the island while I stay on this side."

"So you don't know anything about him huh?" Usopp asks.

"Well all I really know is his name." Gaimon replies.

"Well what's his name?" Nami asks

"His name is Natsu Dragneel."

**All right! Chapter 1 is done! Sorry if it was a little slow. I promise everything will get more interesting in the next chapter as our beloved pirates finally meet Natsu! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and make sure to leave a review to let me know what you think of the story so far. Anyways peace out and see you next time! :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys sorry for making you wait a while but this story is now officially off hiatus! I am really excited to get back into this story because all of the nice reviews I am getting really wants me to keep going so thank you everyone for all of your support and enjoy this chapter! :D**

_On Treasure Island..._

"Ahhhhh..." Natsu sighed as he had just finished a very tasty cooked fish that he caught himself. "Soooo good." Natsu said out loud to no one. "Now for a nice nap and back to training." Natsu said as he began to close his eyes with his arms behind his head as he laid up against a tree.

"OIIIIIIII" A voice shouted. "NATSU GUY WHERE ARE YOU?" Natsu opened up his eyes quickly. Who was that? He has never heard that voice before. It has always just been him and Gaimon that lived on this island. And how did he know his name? Questions filled Natsu's head but then he remembered that he saw a pirate ship make its way towards his island a little while ago.

"Those guys better not have messed with Treasure Box Ossan and his animal nakama..." Natsu grumbled.

"Well whoever they are I'm sure I can-" "GUM GUM ROCKET!" Natsu's words were interrupted as a black haired boy wearing a strawhat launched himself into his stomach making Natsu's eyes bulge out as he was sent to the ground with the strange boy.

"Shishishishsi" The strange boy laughed as he got up from the ground and looked over at Natsu. "Sorry bout that!" The boy said with a huge grin on his face.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Natsu shouted at him with white eyes and shark teeth as he stood back up.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Future King of the Pirates!" The boy, Natsu now knew as Luffy said with the biggest smile on his face that Natsu had ever seen.

"King of the Pirates? I'm assuming you are going to the Grand Line then?" Natsu asked

"Yep that's right! Do you know anything about the Grand Line?" Luffy asked in return.

"Not really" Natsu answered. "All I know about it is what my father Igneel told me when I was kid which is pretty much how it's known as the pirate graveyard and how it's the most dangerous sea in the whole world."

"Shishishishi" Luffy laughed.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"It's just my friend Coby said the exact same thing you did about the Grand Line. He is a wimpy pink haired guy that's like you. Except you don't look wimpy at all! You sure look strong but you still got that pink hair! Shishishi" Luffy laughed again

Natsu started to blush out of embarrassment and get mad. "MY HAIR IS NOT PINK IT'S SALMON" Natsu yelled at Luffy

"Whatever you saaaaayyyy" Luffy singsonged.

"By the way what was that thing you just did to me earlier?" Natsu asked.

"Oh that? That was my Gum Gum Rocket." Luffy stated as if the answer was obvious.

"Um okay but how did you do it?" Natsu asked still in the dark.

"Oh!" Luffy grinned and then stretched his cheeks out. I ate the Gum Gum Devil Fruit and became a Rubber Man."

"A Devil Fruit? My dad has told me all about devil fruits before but I never saw one in person. THAT IS SO COOL LUFFY!" Natsu said excited.

"I know right?" Luffy agreed smiling. Then all of a sudden, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp appeared. "Oi guys!" Luffy shouted. "Come and meet Natsu! He's a pretty funny guy."

"Sup!" Natsu exclaimed. Luffy didn't seem like a bad guy to him so he might as well be friendly with his crew.

"Hello. My name is Nami!" Nami introduced herself.

"Zoro" is all Zoro said.

"And I am the GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP!" Usopp exclaimed puffing up his chest. "I have 3,000 men under me so you best beware!"

"WHAAAAAAAT!?" Natsu screamed with stars in his eyes. "THAT IS SOOOOOO COOL!"

"He's lying dumbass" Zoro told him.

"Awwww" Natsu looked down in disappointment.

_"Great another one..."_ Thought Nami as she sweatdropped.

"So how come you are on this island anyway?" Zoro asked.

Natsu then fell silent. _"Well I know the answer but honestly I'm not even sure anymore..." _Natsu thought sadly.

"I'm...waiting here..." Natsu began. "For my dad to come back.

"Your dad?" Usopp questioned starting to understand where he is coming from.

"Yeah. Well he isn't my real dad but the one who raised me. Igneel is the one who taught me everything. Words, numbers, foods, animals, how to fight, pretty much everything. But when I turned 7 he just left. And I never saw him again. So I've been waiting here for the past 10 years making myself stronger hoping that he might come back one day."

"That's awful!" Nami exclaimed. "Your father is a horrible human being for leaving you on an island all by yourself at the age of 7!"

"Well to be fair..." Natsu started scratching his cheek with one finger. "He isn't a human anyway."

"Not human?" What do you mean? Nami asked.

Natsu grinned at her. "Igneel is a dragon! A real life fire breathing dragon!"

"A DRAGON?!" All the Strawhats yelled.

"YOUR DAD IS A DRAGON?! THAT'S SOOO COOL!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I don't buy it" Zoro simply said. Dragons aren't real.

"I'll prove it! Natsu said. Then Natsu turned around facing the sea and let out a deep breath. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu breathed out a huge amount of fire out of his mouth into the direction of the sea.

"SOOOO COOL!" Luffy yelled with his eyes bulging out!

Usopp's jaw fell to the ground at this. "NO WAY! That has to be a Devil Fruit!" Usopp shouted. Zoro nodded with him in agreement but did seem to also be surprised at what just occurred.

"I can prove that I'm not a devil fruit either too!" Natsu after saying this then jumped into the ocean.

"That idiot! He will drown!" Zoro exclaimed but then he was surprised to see Natsu swimming back up to the island. "But how?"

"Like I said I was raised by a dragon and he taught me this power. It is no Devil Fruit. I am a Dragon Slayer.

"A DRAGON SLAYER?! THAT IS SOOOOOO COOL!" Luffy shouted jumping up and down.

"So let me get this straight." Zoro started. "You were raised by a dragon and that dragon taught you how to slay other dragons?"

"Yep! Pretty much." Natsu stated seeing nothing wrong with that logic.

"HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE!?" Zoro yelled with shark teeth. Natsu just shrugged in response but then he noticed something was bothering the girl Nami about what he said. "Hey you alright?" Natsu asked her.

Nami's eyes were shadowed by her hair. "So... You're a Dragon Slayer? Nami asked making a fist.

"Ummm yeah?" Natsu answered.

"Hey Nami you alright?" Luffy asked her raising an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood.

Nami then looked up in surprise and then began to nervously smile. "Oh? Yes yes! I'm fine it's nothing really!" she said rubbing her back in embarrassment.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at this. Did she know something about Dragon Slayers? But he soon let it go as Zoro asked him a question.

"So are you like the only Dragon Slayer or something?" Zoro asked.

"Well from what I've read in the newspapers which is pretty much the only information I know about what goes on outside my island, their are 7 Dragon Slayers besides me that are publicly known to the world. From what I have heard they are called the 7 Slayers."

"That sounds awesome! I bet they are all super strong!" Luffy claimed.

"Well it was nice meeting you guys." Natsu said. "This is the first time I have actually talked to other humans besides Gaimon." Natsu grinned.

"Wait so you are just gonna stay here and wait for your father still?" Usopp asked.

"Well duh." Natsu said. Then Natsu noticed something was off about Luffy. "Hey whats up?" Natsu asked him.

Luffy's eyes were covered by his strawhat. "You're an idiot." Luffy plainly said.

"Huh?" Natsu asked. That's when a fist came towards Natsu's face sending him flying into a tree. "HEY WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"IGNEEL IS NOT COMING BACK!" Luffy yelled at him.

"Oi Luffy how can you say th-" Usopp began to say but Zoro cut him off putting his head in front of him while shaking his head. Usopp complied and stayed silent.

"What are you saying!?" Natsu growled getting angry. "Of course he will!"

"It's been 10 years. If he hasn't come back then their is no way in Hell is he gonna come back now." Luffy said.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Natsu screamed and then charged at Luffy. "FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST" Natsu yelled as he had his first aimed at Luffy but when he swinged, Luffy quickly dodged.

"GUM GUM WHIP!" Luffy stretching his leg hitting Natsu's side sending him across from Luffy. Then Luffy threw himself on top of Natsu. "Don't you get it?! If your father wanted to come back to you he would have done it by now! DON"T WAIT FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!" Luffy yelled at him.

Natsu tried to struggle but then silently said two words that he should have said to himself a long time ago. "I know..." Tears began to flow from Natsu's eyes. "I KNOW DAMN IT OKAY!?" "I KNOW HE ISN'T COMING BACK. I JUST THOUGHT IF I GOT STRONGER FOR HIM WE COULD BE A FAMILY AGAIN. THAT"S ALL I WANT! THAT IS MY DREAM!"

"Then your dream is a stupid one" Luffy said.

Natsu covered his eyes in shame at this but his ears perked up with what Luffy said next.

"Which is why you should join my crew!"

Natsu looked up at Luffy. "W..What?" Natsu asked.

"Join my crew! Become my Nakama!" Luffy said with determination. "If your dream is to be with your dad again then go find him yourself!" My crew is filled withe people with stupid dreams but we will achieve them. That is why I am asking you Natsu, Do you want to see Igneel again?"

"YES!" Natsu yelled, his tears drying up.

Luffy grinned. "In that case... JOIN MY CREW!"

Natsu looked up at him and then with a face of determination to see his father again Natsu replied to him in a serious voice. "OKAY!"

"Shishishi" Luffy laughed.

_Later... _

Natsu was board his new ship the "Going Merry" and they were all waving goodbye to Gaimon and the other weird animals.

"ALRIGHT!" Luffy began. "LETS GIVE A CHEER TO OUR NEW CREW MEMBER NATSU! OUR VERY OWN PYRO!

"YEAH!" All of the Strawhats said taken a sip of Sake.

Natsu then looked towards the sky as he stood on the ship. _"Dad I'm not sure why you left me that day... But I am going to find out! Igneel! I will find you again so we can be a family! I will find you or my name isn't Natsu Dragneel!_

**ALRIGHT! It is good to be back writing this again! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Nami sure was acting strange when she first met Natsu. Does she know something about Dragon Slayers? All will be revealed eventually. Hue Hue Hue :3**

**Anyways make sure to leave a review on what you thought about the chapter or story so far overall and I will see you all next time! BYE! :D**


	4. Chapter 3

_On the Going Merry_

Natsu was taking in the sun and and nice breeze as he was enjoying his time with his new friends. He had gotten along with Luffy and Usopp the most as they were always playing games and getting into trouble with Nami which resulted in a painful beating afterwards. Natsu from that day on became terrified of Nami. (It just seems like Natsu doesn't have the best luck with redheads ;p) Zoro was someone he had gotten along with as well. He thought him using 3 swords while fighting was really cool to which Zoro replied "It's nothing." with a shrug. So cool! Zoro then laid down to take a nap. Around 2 hours later Natsu was making a bet with Usopp and Luffy.

"My fire can definitely reach that rock before your dumb cannon can!" Natsu stated.

"No way!" Luffy retorted. "With my ship's cannon and Usopp's sniping skills we can totally make that shot before you!" Luffy said grinning while slapping on Usopp's back.

"We'll see about that!" Natsu replied.

Luffy and Usopp then got the cannon into position while Natsu began to inhale.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR" **BOOM**

The cannon and Natsu's roar fired exactly at the same time and

"I WIN!" Natsu, Luffy, and Usopp shouted at the same time.

"What do you mean you win?!" Natsu yelled? "My fire totally hit that rock first!"

"Yeah right!" Luffy shouted. "It was OUR cannon that made it!"

"You tell him Luffy!" Usopp yelled cheering Luffy on. "How dare he thinks he has surpassed the great CAPTAIN USOPP!"

The loud noises and bickering wakes up Zoro.

"Hey, what's so loud down there?" Zoro calls, lifting himself up.

"Cannon firing practice." Luffy replies not taking his eyes from where the cannonball and Natsu's flames striked.

Later all the Strawhats gathered into the kitchen

" . . .There's one other position we have to fill before we can head out for the Grand Line." Luffy says.

Nami looks up from her journal. "You're right, there's a kitchen on this ship. Just pay me and I'll do it."

"I suppose it is vital for long trips." Mumbles a drowsy Zoro.

"No decent pirate ship should be without one. A musician." Luffy says.

Zoro groans. "Are you an idiot?"

"What do you think we're doing out here?" Nami yells at him.

"Just when I thought you were gonna say something smart." Usopp sounds disappointed.

"A musician? That sounds pretty cool!" Natsu grins.

"See? Natsu agrees! We're pirates! And pirates sing a lot don't you know?" Luffy tries to explain his stupidity.

"That makes so much sense!" Natsu said with complete sincerity pounding his fist into his palm making Zoro, Nami, and Usopp sweatdrop at the two of them.

Over the noise of everyone talking, the sound of boots stomping outside the galley.

"Get out here, ya damn pirate!" The person snaps. The newcomer is male from the sound of his voice and he sure was pissed about something.

"Who the hell is that?" Natsu asks.

Luffy decides to take care of uninvited guest, bursting out the galley's door to confront the man, while the rest of us remain inside.

"Hey, what the hell? Who are you?" He demands.

"Shut up! Who I am means nothing, ya stinkin' pirate!" The man shouts. Then he lunges forward and slices the railing in front of galley with his large sword and Luffy almost with it.

"Hey, guys, how many are there?" Zoro asks.

"Looks like only one." Natsu answers.

"Then just let him handle it." The swordsman replies.

The unnamed man then start spouting about how they tried to kill his partner.

"That voice." Zoro mumbles.

Luffy had thrown the man into the wall of the main deck.

"L-Lost by a hair . . ." The man groans out.

"Who is this guy?" Luffy wonders, same as the rest of the crew except Zoro.

Zoro looks down at the slightly beaten man.

"Johnny . . .tell me that isn't you."

"Huh?" Who's sayin' my name like they think they know me or somethin'?" Johnny growls. Then he gets a good look at Zoro and bolts right up. "B-Big Bro Zoro?"

"Johnny, it is you." Zoro says with a small smile.

"What are you doing here, Big Bro?!" Johnny questions.

"Where's Yosaku?" Zoro avoids his old friend's question. "Isn't he with you?"

"What's going on?" Luffy asks completely in the dark on this one.

"How do you two know each other?" Natsu asks.

"What are you doing here, Johnny?" Zoro asks, looking down from pass the cut-up railing in front of the galley.

The man, who's now been named as Johnny, sits up straight to face Zoro. "What? Big Bro? It's you!" He bolts up to his feet in surprise. "Why are you on a pirate ship? What's going on around here?" He demands.

"Hey, relax. Is everything okay?" The swordsman asks his friend. "Where's Yosaku?"

Johnny starts to explain that his partner, Yosaku, was sick and leads the pirates over to his small boat tethered to the port side of the Going Merry where we see the sick man in question. Johnny wasn't exaggerating when he said his partner was in horrible condition. The man was dressed in black shirt, with a green hooded overcoat, yellow plaid shorts, and red martial arts sparring headgear, laid on a blue blanket, with bandages wrapped around his torso with blood seeping from them and a bit from his mouth and nose, and his skin is tinged a sickly mix of green and purple. At first glance, you'd probably think he was dead, if it wasn't for the shallow rising and falling of his chest.

Zoro places a hand on his friends should in an attempt to comfort the now crying man.

"What is it?" Zoro questions as we all get a good look at the damage. He looked even worse up close. The man is breathing heavily and looks as though he's using every bit of his strength to keep his white voided eyes from closing.

"Up until a few days ago, he was healthy and full of life." Johnny starts to explain. "And now . . .He keeps fainting and getting really pale! I have no idea what's causing it! His teeth have been falling out and his old wound opened up and started bleeding. He just got worse and worse; I didn't what to do. So, I thought maybe we'd just rest on a little island, but then . . .a cannonball and a bunch of fire came flying from this ship!" He sobs.

Luffy, Natsu and Usopp's eyes bulge out and jaws drop to the deck as they are shocked by this piece of information, as they were the reason for the cannonball and fire so they quickly apologize to Johnny and his partner. "We're very sorry." They plead and bow in apology.

The gesture doesn't comfort Johnny in any way at all. "Sorry isn't good enough." He looks back down to his sick friend. "Isn't that right partner?" He begins to sob again. "Big Bro . . .Give it to me straight, is he gonna die?"

Zoro shudders at the thought.

Nami then kneels down to Yosaku, picks up his tongue and starts to pull on it.

"What are you doing?!" Johnny yells grabbing Nami's hand. Nami quickly pulls away and stands up again.

"Luffy, Natsu, Usopp, go get the barrel of limes we've got in storage please." The trio runs to the storage room, fighting to get through the doorway. Their stupidity leading them to crash into the storage room.

"He's got Vitamin C deficiency; Better known to sailors as 'scurvy'. It's a food-related seaborne illness." Nami explains. "When the body lacks certain vitamins or mineral it can cause serious medical problems. Scurvy is when someone's dietary intake severely lacks Vitamin C can cause a number of problems. It was lucky you found us when you did. By the end of the month his symptoms would have gotten much worse. I'm surprised you've been sailing for a while without knowing this."

Luffy, Natsu and Usopp did as told and squeezed juice from the limes into Yosaku's mouth.

"The nutrients from the limes will help his recovery." Nami finishes.

"Really, Big Sis? You mean he's gonna come through?" Johnny asks hopefully.

"Yes he will." Nami answers. "Way back when, this used to be a hopeless illness that plagued sailors because they couldn't store fresh fruits and vegetables."

"You're so smart, Nami! You're like a doctor." Luffy says stupidly.

YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS! I JUST SAID THAT THIS IS SOMETHING EVERY SAILOR SHOULD KNOW. PIRATE, MARINE OR ANYONE WHO SAILS FOR THAT MATTER!" Nami roars.

"A scary doctor….." Natsu trembles

"Yeah…" Luffy agrees also scared of the fiery redhead.

Yosaku, choking and sputtering, then spits out the limes that were forced into his mouth. He sits up to reveal that the color has quickly returned to his face and has stopped bleeding from his nose and mouth.

Johnny and Yosaku begin to prance around the deck dancing in a circle, arms linked, and shouting 'Hooray! Hooray!' over and over.

"Those nutrients cured me!" Yosaku shouts.

"Now you're all better!" Johnny cheers.

"There's no way you can recover that quickly, lie back down!" Nami orders.

The two stopped dancing. "Allow us to introduce ourselves." They chorus.

"My name is Johnny . . ."

" . . .And I'm Yosaku."

"Together we're the baddest pirate bounty hunting duo in the world." They finish together.

"Big Bro Zoro there used to be one of us." Johnny explains.

"Glad to make your acquaintance." Yosaku adds.

"Small world. Never thought I'd see you guys again." Zoro comments.

"Well, if you think you're surprised . . ." Johnny starts

"We never imagined 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro became a pirate himself." Yosaku finishes.

"Tell me about it." Zoro chuckles raising his hand to shake with his old bounty hunting friends, but Yosaku's scurvy catches up again and is right back in the state they first saw him in as he collapses on the main deck.

"Uh, partner?" Johnny cries.

Zoro and Natsu take Yosaku and put him in the storage room behind the galley on a makeshift bed, then rejoin everyone in the galley.

"After this incident, I think we all know the next position we need to fill on this crew." Nami says.

"Yep. This is the kind of trouble you run into when you choose a life in the sea." Zoro agrees.

"Which mean when we're at sea we really gotta think about how we can get the right amount of nutrients with very little food." Usopp clarifies.

"It's absolutely necessary someone on this ship knows how to do that." Nami adds.

"A cook? I know just the place." Johnny pipes up. "And the food is gonna blow your mind."

"Alright, let's go! Where to?" Luffy questions excitedly.

"Consider yourselves warned, this place is close to the Grand Line." Johnny walks to stand in front of Zoro. "And I've heard a lot of rumors lately that a certain hawk-eyed man your looking for is there."

Zoro grips his swords and smirks.

"Set a course . . ." He points dramatically. "North-northeast!"

Under Johnny's instructions, they follow his heading towards the direction of the sea restaurant. "Our destination is . . .the sea restaurant . . .Baratie!" Johnny declares.

The restaurant is now in view. A large three-floored ship that takes on an oval shape, with a fish head as the front-piece.

Everyone rushes to the front deck to get a few at the incredible sea-faring eatery. Luffy, Usopp, and Natsu are drooling with their jaws hanging open, Nami looks in awe, and Zoro looks impressed.

"So . . .What do ya think?" Johnny asks.

"Wow! It's a big fish!" Luffy cheers.

"Mmmmmm… Fish…." Natsu drools thinking about eating a tasty fish at the restaurant right now.

"How lovely!" Nami breathes.

"This is the coolest place ever!" Usopp adds bursting with excitement.

"Just like I told ya, right?" Johnny says.

The sound of a loud horn honking and bells ringing draws Natsu's attention from his food fantasies. "Guys, we've got trouble." Natsu warns as a Marine ship pulls up right beside the Going Merry.

"A Marine ship?" An up and about Yosaku shrieks.

"Hey, Luffy. They're not gonna start firing at us, are they?" Usopp questions.

"Ugh. It's just my luck. Of course, the Marines would show up." Zoro grunts.

"But, how did that ship . . .?" Nami begins to wonder.

"Whoever they are, I'm sure we can just kick their asses" Natsu smirked confidently.

Johnny tip-toes and joins Yosaku hiding behind the galley's door as a man appears on the top deck of the Marine ship. He wears a pinstripe white suit and has a head of pink hair. "I've never seen that pirate flag." He says. The man then slams a hand on the railing of the Marine vessel showing off heavy brass knuckles. "I am 'Iron Fist' Fullbody, but you can just call me sir. You there! Who's the captain? Identify yourself."

Luffy steps up. "My name is Luffy!"

Usopp stands next to Luffy. "My name is Usopp! Got it?"

Natsu slaps the air. "Oi"

"We only made our flag the day before yesterday."

"That's right Marine and I drew it." Usopp pointlessly adds.

"Oi Oi" Natsu says again sweat dropping.

"You did? Is that so?" Fullbody smirks. But then he spots Johnny and Yosaku cowering behind the door of the galley. "Hey, you two, right there! I've seen you before. You're that bounty hunter duo that goes after the small fish."

The two try to defend themselves but they can't even form the words.

"So, you've finally been caught by pirates." The Marine mocks.

Johnny and Yosaku still can't even say a full sentence.

Full body chuckles. "Now that's a laugh."

A beautiful, elegantly dressed woman appears from behind Fullbody links her arm around his. Her blonde hair tied back in a loose bun with her bangs framing the sides of the face and dressed in a sleeveless, dark magenta dress. "Hey, c'mon baby. Let's get going." She urges.

"Sure." Fullbody allows the woman to pull him away towards the restaurant.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Johnny yells as he begins to pull some papers from his hoodie. "You think small time bounty hunters would go after these guys?!" He chucks a stack of wanted posters in front of him, but Fullbody and his date pay him no mind.

The Marine's fire on the strawhats, but Luffy is quick to take action. "Leave it to me! GUM-GUM . . ." He stretches his both his arms. One to grab ahold of the mast, the other the sheep figurehead of the Merry. The cannonball hits Luffy right in the belly stretching him back from the force of the projectile. " . . .SLINGSHOT!" But everything goes wrong as Luffy's hand that was gripping the figurehead slips and causes the trajectory of the cannonball to be shot back at the restaurant and the rubber boy to slam stomach first into the figurehead.

Two of the chefs come out from the restaurant and apprehend Luffy and drag him of to see the owner because it is partially his fault part of the restaurant got destroyed.

"Ha! That's what he gets for making fun of my pink hair yesterday!" Natsu says crossing his arms with his chest puffed out.

"I thought you said your hair was salmon Natsu?" Zoro asks him with a knowing smirk.

Natsu then realizing what he just said gets angry. "SHUT UP!" Natsu yelled at Zoro to which in reply Zoro just laughs.

20 minutes later the Going Merry finally anchors and the rest of the Strawhats go inside to find Luffy only to be greeted with what seemed like a conflict between two people.

"Oooh is a fight going on? Natsu asks to no one in particular. "Count me in!" Natsu laughs.

"Don't ever waste food around me again. At sea if you ever provoke your cook, you're signing your own death warrant." a man dressed in black with blonde hair covering one side of his face and swirly eyebrows growls at the marine they all saw before but all bloody with the blonde man's hands wrapped around his neck. "Remember that."

Natsu looks at this man with great interest because to him this guy looked pretty strong. Natsu then grins. "_It's a shame I missed the fight but it looks like things are already getting fired up."_


	5. Chapter 4

Every patron of the Baratie is frozen in shock at the blonde cook's holding a bloodied, beaten Fullbody by the neck. It all happened so fast. His kicks were so precise yet had just enough power to seriously wound the Marine, but not enough to kill him.

"Oh, no! Our customer!"

They all turn to see a muscular man with plenty of hair on his arms, a shaved head, large lips and a short black beard, dressed in navy blue short sleeved shirt with two rows of yellow buttons going down both sides, knee length shorts of the same color, and brown shoes. The man also wears a white half apron, pink ascot, an earring on his right ear, two heart tattoos on his left arm, and has a rope as a headband tied around his shaven head. His name was Patty.

"Dammit! Not again, Sanji! What do you think you're doing to our customer?" He questions as he walks to the man now revealed to be Sanji with a less than stellar look on his face. "Can't you see he's a Marine lieutenant?" He gestures to the man the sous-chef is gripping by the neck, holding him off the ground.

"You're a terrible cook. What makes you think you can talk to me like that?" Sanji demands in a cool manner, glancing at Patty, still not releasing Fullbody from his grip.

"A crappy cook like you is calling me bad?" Patty continues to stalk towards Sanji until he's right up in his face. "Restaurants can't exist without their customers; They're our life-blood. So, we don't wanna hurt them the way you seem to keep doing." He lectures.

"But he deserved it." Sanji looks to face Fullbody's limp figure. "He didn't treat the food or me with respect and he insulted all the cooks." Sanji lets the Marine lieutenant fall from his grasp and slump to the floor. "So, I simply taught him a lesson."

"You're gonna regret this . . .all of you." Fullbody growls. "No restaurant should treat its customers like this. I'll shut you down. Do you understand me? I will shut you down! This entire place! This whole restaurant is finished. Do you hear me?!"

"Then, maybe I should just finish you off now." Sanji threatens. He stalks towards Fullbody with intent on staying true to his words. The chef rest of the cooks try to hold him back from killing the deserving, conceited jerk.

"Arrogant assholes like you think they're such big shots, they can push anybody around really piss me off!" Sanji growls trying to push past the chef struggling to hold him back.

"You can't keep doing this in the restaurant every other day!" A chef holding back Sanji says.

"You're not such a big shot now . . . " Sanji's expression is that of a feral animal bent on tearing apart its prey, no matter what holds it back. " . . .Are ya?!" Fullbody looks ready to piss himself.

Just then, two bodies crashed through the ceiling of the restaurant from the second level. It was Luffy and some old guy with a really long mustache.

The customers look in shock at the two falling through the ceiling.

"What happened?"

"Are they okay?"

Luffy sits up from being crushed by Zeff after they landed. "I can breathe again."

"Boss Zeff, what's happening here? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Another chef asks concerned.

But Zeff just shakes it off and looks up to the hole in the ceiling. "Dammit. My ceiling! Another thing that's gonna have to get fixed because of you! This is all your fault, you brat!"

"Boss! Can you stop messing around and give us a hand?! Sanji's gone crazy again!" One of the same chefs struggling to keep the rampant sous-chef in check cries.

Zeff turns around to see what's going on.

"Hey, Sanji!" Zeff calls to the young man. "Don't tell me you went on another rampage in here, you idiot!"

"Put a cork in it, old man!" Sanji snarls.

"Oh, now you're ordering me around. Just who do you think you're taking to?" Zeff demands. "Do you want to sink my restaurant to the bottom of the sea, you punk?" Zeff delivers a peg leg kick across Sanji's face.

Fullbody chuckles at the chewing out Sanji is receiving. "You too!" The Marine lieutenant starts as he sees in intimidating head chef looming over him. "Get your ass out of my restaurant!" Zeff gives Fullbody another swift peg leg kick, but much harder than the one Sanji received.

"How can you deny our motto that the customer is king?!" Patty yells.

"The only kingly customers are the ones who stomach the slop that you call food." Sanji retorts

"That's it. If you two wanna fight, you'll keep it in the kitchen, understand me?" Zeff orders.

Fullbody manages to sit back up even after the beating he took.

"Lieutenant!"

Everyone looks into the open entryway of the restaurant and see a Marine stagger inside. "Lieutenant Fullbody. We . . .We've got trouble!"

Now this is turning into quite the party.

"Wow. This restaurant is crazy." Luffy mumbles.

Natsu laughs. "True but thats what makes it really fun!"

"Sir, he's escaped! Pirate Krieg's henchman attacked us and vanished!" The Marine exclaims.

"He what?!" Fullbody is shocked at this new information.

"Well sir, we've already lost seven of our men and the only thing we wanted out of him was a lead on finding Krieg."

"Impossible! When we picked him up three days ago he was right on the verge of starving to death, and we haven't fed him anything! Where'd he get the strength?" Fullbody stresses.

The Baratie customers panic at the very mention of Krieg's name.

"Krieg Pirates!"

"They're the ones who are said to be the fiercest pirates in the East Blue."

The Marine tries to apologize for his failure but is suddenly shot in the back and drops dead.

The restaurant patrons are quick to scatter to the back of the building, and with good reason. The shooter is a relatively thin man, average height, with short scruffy hair, a scruffy beard and a slight mustache. He sports an open gray jacket with a red sea-serpent design on each side with a green shirt underneath, gray pants matching the shade of his jacket, and a gray headband with a blue stripe design, and two red spherical earrings in each ear.

"It would seem we have a new customer, sir." Patty says to Zeff.

"He'd do well to mind his manners and not start any trouble on my ship." Zeff replies.

So far, it doesn't look like the man wants to cause any trouble as he walks to an empty table and props his feet on top of it. Judging by his slightly hollowed cheeks, dark circles under his eyes and exhausted movements, he really hasn't been fed anything in the past few days. "I don't care what it is, just bring me something to eat." No one makes a move. "Come on. This is a restaurant."

Patty walks up to the man with a big creepy smile. "Hello and welcome, you damn crook." He greets.

"_Well that's one way to greet a customer…" _Natsu thinks while sweatdropping.

The terrified customers gasp at the bold talk he's giving the Krieg Pirate.

"I'm just gonna say this one more time, bring me something to eat and make it quick." The man repeats.

Fullbody makes a comment about how Patty was going to get everyone killed by mocking the Krieg Pirate.

"Of course, right away. But might I be so bold to inquire how you're paying for your meal?" Patty questions.

The pirate responds to holding the pistol he's been carrying since he walked in to Patty's face. "Will a bullet be enough?"

"So, you don't have any money then." Patty states then quickly brings down both his meaty fists on top of the pirate's head crushing him in his chair along with the table.

"That dumbass, Patty. He broke another chair." Zeff grumbles.

"Whoa. What power." Luffy murmurs to himself.

"WOW! COOL!" Natsu exclaims. Natsu was loving every moment of this crazy restaurant.

"Sorry pirate, but our policy is to only serve paying customers." Patty says as he throws the pirate out of the restaurant to which the customers cheered in response.

About 20 or so minutes later, Natsu and the other Strawhats were sitting on a table ready to be served. Then all of a sudden they look up to the sound of crashing plates and screaming. Following that to everyone's surprise (NOT) was Luffy being asked by Patty to take orders.

"Chore boy!" Nami calls out.

"Ack! What are you doing?" Luffy demands walking over to where his crew was sitting.

"We heard you have to work here for a whole year." Usopp snickers.

"Is it okay if we redraw the flag for our ship?" Zoro teases.

"Mmmmm sooo good…" Natsu says after taking a huge bite out of a delicious fish to which Luffy notices immediately.

"You're eating all this delicious food without me?" The Strawhat captain whines.

"What kind of crew are you?!" He screams. "How could you do this to me?!"

"Hold on, I think that's our business isn't that right?" Zoro smiles cheekily.

Luffy angrily picks his nose while glaring at Zoro. And while the swordsman was too busy laughing, Luffy drops a booger into his water.

Usopp, Natsu, and Nami are holding back their laughter, but it doesn't look like they can hold it in for much longer.

"Oh, boy. This is gonna be so good." Usopp makes the weirdest face trying not to laugh.

"This is gonna be the best thing ever." Natsu says also trying hard not to laugh.

"You know I have to say the food here really is quite delicious. Good stuff." The swordsman picks up the tainted glass of water and slowly raises it to his lips to drink it, making no indication of knowing what Luffy did. "Yes, it is. I feel bad for ya, but . . . YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING THIS YOURSELF!"

That did it. Everyone at the table burst out laughing as Zoro forced the tainted water down Luffy's throat. The rubber boy's eyes bulge out as he tries to get away, but the swordsman has got him by the shoulders, preventing him from escaping. Natsu, Nami and Usopp lose it and are slamming their hands on the table and laughing, drawing attention to them from the entire restaurant.

"I can't believe you did that!" Luffy chokes out.

"Yeah, well I can't believe you did that." Zoro throws back.

"Oh, that was nasty!" The rubber boy was rolling around on the floor, gripping his throat as if he just drank poison. Which isn't too far from the truth. "Oh, gross!"

Sanji looks up from pouring wine for and flirting with the lady of the table he is serving. "Aren't they quaint. I wonder if that's the rest of his crew." He scowls at the current chore boy slacking off before spotting the orange haired member of the table. He ceases his flirting with the woman he's been serving and hands the wine bottle to the woman's date. "Finish pouring it yourself." He says in a daze.

Suddenly the blonde haired chef appears at the table kneeling in front of Nami with a red rose in his hand.

"Oh, ocean! Thank you for delivering this beautiful pearl through the doors of this restaurant! Please continue to laugh, so that I may hear that angelic voice leave your beautiful lips!" The blond Casanova hides his face in his other hand. "I can't bear this hardship of loving you from afar, it is too difficult! I am now prepared to sail the ends of the earth as a pirate if it means someone of your beauty will be by my side!" He flirts looking up at Nami to reveal his eyes turning into hearts and a blush staining his cheeks.

"And that 'great obstacle' would be me, right Sanji?"

Tzhe hearts in Sanji's eyes vanish as Zeff spoke. "Ugh, stupid geezer." He groans.

"Sanji, this is an opportunity you don't want toz pass up. Why not join them and become a pirate?" Zeff asks with full seriousness in his tone.

Sanji turns to face Zeff in shock at his words.

"I have no need to keep you here in my restaurant." Zeff remarks.

Sanji is trembling in anger at Zeff's statement. "I'm the sous-chef in this place! What do you mean you don't need me anymore!?" Sanji demands.

"You fight with customers all the time. You flirt with every woman under 80 who walks through here. You can't even cook a decent meal." Zeff retorts. "You're worthless to me than the chum after brunch. That's what I mean. Oh, and let's not forget how the other cooks avoid you like you were poison." The old chef continues. "So just run off and be a pirate or whatever but get out of this restaurant."

You can try to kick me out, but I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere old man. Not 'til you're dead and gone!" Sanji shouts.

"Dead? I got another 100 years of kicking your ass left in me." Zeff replies without even sparing Sanji a glance as he makes his way upstairs.

"He's always got to have the last word." Grumbles Sanji.

"See, he said it's cool! Now you can become a pirate!" Luffy cheers as he pats Sanji on the shoulder.

"SHUT UP!" He yells in Luffy's face.

Sanji then leaves and returns with a glass of colorful sliced up fruit for Nami and pours her a glass of wine.

Natsu's hand slowly moves to grab a piece of fruit but is intervened by Sanji.

"NOT FOR YOU SHITY PINKIE!" Sanji yells kicking Natsu in the face.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Natsu roars getting up.

"YOU HEARD ME!" Sanji yells back.

The two get ready to fight but Nami then interrupts. "Boys, Boys, you don't need to fight over me. Nami slyly says winking.

"Whatever you say mademoiselle!" Sanji says heart eyed.

"SINCE WHEN WAS THIS ABOUT YOU!?" Natsu yells with shark teeth and eyes bulging out.

Nami then gets an 'evil genius idea' look and starts to act all bashful. "Umm… excuse me Sanji-kun?

"Yes?" Sanji asks leaning closer to the navigator blushing.

" Well… it's just that all of the food here is really really good." Nami's got that poor cook wrapped around her finger as she scratches under his chin. "But it's a little too expensive for me."

"Relax, it's free." Sanji coos.

The orange-haired girl seals the deal by wrapping her arms around the blond, hugging him. "Oh, thank you!"

Sanji composes himself and loses the lover boy attitude. "You guys still gotta pay though." Sanji says turning the other 3 boys sitting.

"WAAAH!" Usopp is angered by the statement.

"How very generous of you." Zoro grumbles.

Natsu just sweatdrops at the entire scene in front of him.

Luffy, who had been sitting at an empty chair, slacking and drinking tea, laughs.

Luffy is then kicked across the face by Sanji causing his head to stretch and bounce from side to side making Natsu let out a little chuckle.

"What are you sitting around for?" Sanji questions as he nabs Luffy by the neck and drags him back to the kitchen. "You're not here to lounge around."

"Right . . ." The rubber boy groans.

_A few days later…._

Luffy is still working as a chore boy for the Baratie and the rest of the crew is getting antsy to leave already but Luffy keeps reassuring them that he has almost convinced Sanji to join.

In the restaurant a few customers start to panic as they notice from the window, a pirate ship with a certain Jolly Roger that anyone in the East Blue would recognize.

"It's them! They're here! The hourglasses mean our time is up!" A customer yells pointing out the ships Jolly Roger.

"What're we gonna do now? That flag means death. There's no doubt! It belongs to the ruler of the East Blue. Don Krieg."

Everyone starts to go into a panic as the gigantic galleon overshadows the Baratie.

"But why? Why have the Krieg Pirates come here?"

"This can't be real! He's got a whole fleet to command! Why would Don Krieg come here to get revenge for just one man? I mean, doesn't he have anything better to do?" One of the cooks in the restaurant asks with worry.

"He's here all right! We're not imagining that ship, are we?!" Another cook shouts.

A couple minutes later Krieg arrives leaning on the shoulder of another pirate named Ghin that Luffy told the rest of his crew about the other day. Don Krieg had a look on his face that clearly shows he is suffering from starvation.

"I beg you . . .I need food . . .and water." Krieg groans weakly. "We have money . . .Lots of money . . .Please . . .It's been so long I don't even remember the last time I ate. Please, sir. I need food . . .and drink. I'm begging you"

The menacing pirate then slips from Ghin's support and falls to his face. "C-Captain!" He cries as the man lies limp on the floor. "Don Krieg. Please help him! Our captain is on the brink of starvation. He could die! He hasn't had a single bite to eat for days. He'll die if he doesn't get some food soon."

Both the patrons and the chef's make no move to help the starving pirate.

Patty starts laughing loudly as he stands from his spot on the staircase. "This is great! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The great Don Krieg kneeling before us."

"We have some money! We're here as customers this time." Ghin shouts.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Patty barks. "Hey, get ahold of the Marines right away!" He orders.

"What?!" Ghin gasps.

"He's finally weak enough to be captured! This may never happen again and I'm not gonna ruin it by helping him get his strength back." Patty replies and the customers and cooks began to murmur in agreement.

"He's right! Who know what he'll do if he gets on is feet again."

"He's done terrible things."

"And as soon as he's up he'll keep on doing 'em. I say we let him starve."

"Once he's back to normal he'll kill every last person in this restaurant. He won't get so much as a glass of water from me." A cook adds.

"I won't do anything . . ." Krieg groans as pushes himself up and places himself in a groveling position. "I won't do anything . . .Once I eat . . .I promise I'll leave quietly. So please, be merciful and help me."

"You're a king, Don Krieg! Stop it!" Ghin begs to his captain. "Please don't reduce yourself to this. You're better than a common beggar! Please sir, what about your pride?!"

"I promise..." Krieg bows his head. "Please…. I'll take the scraps… I'll take anything… anything."

The sound of footsteps causes Natsu to turn to the staircase and see Sanji come down from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of fried rice and a bottle of wine. From the sound of all of the commotion its natural that no one would notice Sanji going down the stairs but with his dragon like hearing he could hear him easily.

"Boo-hoo for the cruel pirate." Patty mocks.

"Hey. Step aside, Patty." Sanji grumbles and delivers a swift roundhouse kick to the man's face causing him to hit the brick wall behind him and fall over the staircase rails, crashing into the floor.

"Sanji." Ghin gasps.

The sous-chef places the food and drink in front of the two Krieg Pirates. "Here's something for your captain."

"Thank you, Sanji." Ghin says.

"Thank you." Krieg cries as he shovels the food into his mouth with his hands.

Carne rushes down the staircase, knocking another chef out of the way. "You dimwit! Get that food away from him right now!" He exclaims. "Don't you realize he's a cold, heartless, killing machine?! This is the man known as the 'Ruler of the East Blue'; The most treacherous of all pirates! It all started back in prison. He pretended to be a Marine. And when he decided to declare his pirate ambitions, he took command of a Marine vessel by killing the senior officer. He would raise the Marine flag to enter ports, then lay waste to the unsuspecting cities and passenger ships there. He even showed the white flag before attacking enemy ships. He did anything to secure victory."

That guy fights dirty." Natsu mutters angrily.

"Yeah…." Luffy agrees equally upset as Natsu.

Patty continues on with his rant. "He's also unmatched in physical combat. You think he'll just leave us alone? I've got news for you: That's not possible with a bloodthirsty killer like him!" Carne continues. "He deserves death!"

All of a sudden Krieg gets on his feet and attacks Sanji making everyone including Ghin gasp at the sight.

"This is not what we agreed on!" Ghin exclaims. "You gave me your word. I only brought you here because you promised that you wouldn't ruin this place or even hurt the man who saved us!" "Who saved me!"

Krieg grabs Ghin by the arm and lifts him off the ground.

"Yes, that was delicious." Krieg speaks much clearer now. He squeezes Ghin's shoulder until a sickening crunch followed by Ghin's cries of pain rings loud. "I feel alive again!" Krieg then tosses Ghin to the side like he's garbage and then scans the room with a menacing glare and a sickening snarl on his face.

"This is a pretty good ship. I believe that I'll take it." Krieg addresses the chefs.

Krieg huffs a breath from his mouth like an angry bull. "As you can all see my ship is a wreck. Naturally I'll be needing a nice new one. After a few small chores, every last one of you will leave the ship."

"What?! No!" Carne shouts.

"Don Krieg . . .you promised . . .please!" Ghin begs, clutching his wounded arm.

The pirate commodore raises a hand and points his thumb to the decimated galleon behind him through the restaurant's open doors. "There are about a hundred men aboard my ship; All are weak with hunger and many are seriously wounded. If you value your lives you will prepare food and water for every last one of them. I've lost too many men to hunger already. Bring them over immediately!"

"You're telling us to feed our executioners?! Do you hear how stupid that sounds?! We refuse!" Carne yells.

"You refuse? I wasn't asking you. Now make no mistake you wretched cook, I'm not placing an order; I am giving you one. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?! DON'T DEFY ME!" Krieg glares at the cooks screaming.

The cooks cower back in fear.

"Sanji, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." Ghin grunts.

"You see?! Look what you brought on this restaurant, you stupid bastard!" Patty berates loudly to Sanji.

Sanji makes no expression to even hearing Patty's yells, his gaze locked on a wounded Ghin. Sanji turns to walk up to the kitchen.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Patty shouts.

"To the kitchen . . ." Sanji answers. "Looks like I'll be cooking a hundred more meals today."

The chefs are shocked at Sanji's nonchalant reply. "WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY!" They all shout.

"Good. Hop to it." Krieg smirks.

Sanji is soon surrounded by all the chefs wielding large pitch forks, knives and pans on long poles pointed right at him.

"Tell me the truth, Sanji. Are you his spy or something?"

"We can't let you go anywhere near that kitchen."

"We're fed up with you acting insane!"

The sous-chef spreads his arms out, as if he's welcoming the chefs to attack him. "All right."

The chefs gasp at Sanji not defending himself.

"Stop me if you wish." He continues. "I know it's no secret that Don Krieg is a terrible, ruthless man. However that doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter. After we feed all these men, who knows what's going to happen. I am just a simple cook, no more and no less. If someone's going hungry, then it is my absolute duty to them. That's all I know. What do you say?" He looks to his fellow chefs. "Is that wrong?"

Suddenly, Patty socks Sanji in the back and knocks him to the floor.

"Patty!" Carne yells shocked.

"Hey somebody grab him." Patty orders. "You bring free food to the bums I kick out of this place over and over again. And I'm not about to argue over who's right in that particular situation, but this time you're just flat out wrong Sanji." Patty looks down at Sanji struggling to get upright. "I can't let you do things like that anymore." The buff cook makes his way to a pantry by the staircase and begins to rummage through it. "We're going to protect this place. Fortunately, we've got numbers on our side. It is Don Krieg, but what can he do against all of us? At a joint like this pirate scumbags come and go all day. We're fully prepared to serve any kind of customer." Patty finds what he's looking for in the cabinet. A large object wrapped in a white cloth. "I really hope you saved some room for dessert . . ." Patty pulls back the linen from the object. "'Cause I've got a secret recipe . . .THAT IS TRULY TO DIE FOR!" The object is revealed to be a handheld cannon designed to look like a shrimp. "Open wide . . .here comes the Meatball of Doom!" He fires the weapon at Krieg and the pirate takes it without moving from his spot.

Smoke and debris fill the room from the aftermath of the explosion. Patty, looking smug, has the cannon leaned against his shoulder.

"I might have broken the door. I sure hope Zeff doesn't yell at me again." Patty grunts.

"He might go easy on you for saving the restaurant and all." Carne inputs.

"So, what are we going to do about all the guys left in Krieg's ship?" Sanji questions after getting up.

"Fry 'em!" Patty answers. "Cover it in batter and fry the entire thing."

"Are you a chef or a comedian . . ." A gruff voice questions. " . . .Because your jokes are lame."

The looks to the doorway in terror at a still standing Don Krieg.

"And that dessert was terrible! The worst I ever had!"

Not only had the man not budge from his spot where the bomb hit him, but he's completely unscathed. The only damage that was done was to the man's shirt and jacket which was burnt off in the explosion, to reveal golden-colored armor worn under his clothes.

"WOAH! WHAT COOL ARMOR!" Natsu yell with stars shining in his eyes..

"DON"T BE IN AWE OF HIM!" Usopp yells with shark teeth and white eyes slapping Natsu on the head comediacly.

"You cooks should not have defied me! I am by far the world's strongest man! Arms made of solid steel! Wootz steel body armor, impenetrable! And a diamond fist that could pound this entire world to dust!" He bangs his hand against the metal armor for emphasis. "In addition to the weapons on my body, I have a fleet of 50 ships with 5000 pirates! My record is perfect! I've won every single battle that I've ever been in! I am Don and I'm the only one fit to be called Don! When I give you slimeballs an order you will follow it down to the last letter! Don't you ever disobey me!" He bellows.

Zeff shows up and drops a giant sack of what seems to be the 100 meals Don Krieg ordered the cooks to make.

"This is about a hundred meals. Now take it to your men right away." Zeff says, calmly as he tosses the sack in front of golden armored pirate.

"No, Owner Zeff!" The chefs cry.

All of a sudden Don Krieg gasps as he stares at Zeff recognizing that face anywhere. The pirate's eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets, sweat starting to bead on his forehead and his jaw hangs open.

"_You are… You are 'Red Foot' Zeff." He gasps._


	6. Chapter 5

Protest come from the chefs regarding Zeff's decision as the old chef turns and walks away from Krieg after dropping off the sack of meals, while the head chef himself is unmoved by both Krieg's presence and the objections of his cooks.

Don Krieg, on the other hand, looks utterly petrified at hearing the head chef's name. Frozen in place, eyes wide open in shock.

"Wh-Wh-What are you doing?! You can't be serious!"

"If all of those pirates get their strength back the restaurant will be completely taken over!"

"That would be true . . ." Calmly, Zeff finally speaks. " . . .If they still have the will to fight."

The chefs are confused at Zeff's comment.

"Tell me . . ." Zeff turns to face Krieg. "Did your will survive defeat?"

Don Krieg is at a loss for words at Zeff's question that seems to hold more weight than any of the rest of them can realize.

The cooks are stunned by this news.

"That can't be . . ."

"The great Don Krieg was defeated?!"

Every chef turns to look at Krieg.

"Whoa, not even he could do it." Carne says shocked. "A pirate fleet with 50 ships couldn't make it on the Grand Line!"

"The Grand Line?" Luffy breathes.

"It is you, isn't it?" Krieg gasps. "You're 'Red Foot' Zeff." Don Krieg's look of surprise turns into a sneer. "So, you are alive. The unrivaled pirate captain who was also the ship's cook."

"Yes, that's right. I'm still alive." Zeff replies calmly, yet boredly, as he turns to face Krieg. "But what has any of this got to do with you? I haven't been a pirate for many years now; I chose the life of a cook."

Krieg cackles. "'Chose the life of a cook', huh? Yeah, right. You didn't have a choice old man. You live as a cook because the only thing you can be now is a cook. He was known far and wide. 'Red Foot' Zeff was a master of deadly kicks who never used his hands in battle. It was said that with his mighty legs he could crush bedrock to sand and leave footprints on solid steel. 'Red Foot' referred to his boots which became soaked in the blood of his enemies as he kicked them down." The pirate commodore looks at Zeff's peg leg. "You know, it really is a pity that you no longer have that precious leg of yours." "I heard that rumor some time ago. How unlucky for you to have such an accident at sea. Now that your greatest weapon has been sacrificed to the sea you're defenseless; Completely unable to fight."

"I don't need to fight anymore." Zeff grunts. "I'm a cook. And as long as I have my two hands for that I'll be just fine. Enough chitchat! Let's get to the point. What do you want from me?" Zeff's tone is of pride and confidence, unlike Krieg boastfulness.

Krieg smiles maliciously. "'Red Foot'. You're the man who sailed the perilous waters of the Grand Line and came back unscathed. Impressive. There should be a logbook detailing your tactics. A full year of your journey there. Give it to me, now!"

Zeff doesn't openly flinch at Krieg's demand, but his gaze does harden.

"Whoa, so is he saying you've been to the Grand Line too, Pops?" Luffy asks excitedly.

"Yeah." Zeff replies like it no big deal, with a scowl still present on his face. "My logbook, huh? You're right. I do indeed have a record of my travels . . .but I will never hand it over to you." The smirk Krieg wore on his face morphs into a frown. "You ignorant brute. That logbook is sacred to me; It's the pride of the crewmen that I sailed with. It's far too important to give to you."

"Alright. I'll take it." Krieg declares. "Yes, it's true that the Grand Line beat me. Still, I will never give up on it. I am Don Krieg. In the end, it's just another ocean. I had enough weapons, and men, and ambition. Regrettably, the only thing I lacked was information. I just didn't know enough. But now I'll fix all that. Once I have your logbook I'll form another pirate fleet and seize the legendary One Piece. Then I will stand as ruler of this Great Pirate Era!"

The young rubber pirate captain swiftly walks forward to the front of the crowd. "Now hold on It's me who's gonna be King of the Pirates."

"Chore boy?" The cooks gasp.

"Wait! Don't be such an idiot! You better back off chore boy!" Patty yells.

Luffy just smirks. "No way! Not from this."

"Did you say something, kid?" Krieg snarls. "I won't allow that kind of stupidity again."

"Oh, yeah? Well stupid or not, I'm just stating the facts like they are." Luffy counters.

"This isn't a game." Krieg growls.

"Yeah, I know." Luffy replies. "I'm still gonna conquer the Grand Line.

"NO, YOU WON'T!" Krieg bellows in anger as he bunches his hand into a tightly clenched fist. "It's true that we didn't have the information we needed, but my fleet of 5000 men was wiped out in just seven days you brat! That sea is hell!"

"What? One week?!" Patty cries.

"Don Krieg's ships were wiped out in seven days?" Carne queries.

"What happened out there?" Another cook questions.

Krieg takes note of a calm, undeterred Zeff that's made no move since he gave him the food. The guns in Krieg's armor retracted back in. "I'll deal with you later. Right now, I'm going to go feed my men." He hauls the large sack of food over his shoulder. "Those of you who don't wish to die can leave the restaurant now and escape that fate. The only things I'm after are the logbook and this ship." He stops in the busted doorway of the restaurant. "However, if you want to stay and be slaughtered, I have no problem burying every last one of you at sea. Know that." Krieg exit the building, leaving behind a still wounded Ghin.

Though Krieg had just left a few seconds ago the tension is still high inside the restaurant. The cooks exchange worried expressions.

Ghin all of a sudden begins gasping apologies. "I-I'm so sorry, Sanji. I never thought it would be this way."

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Ghin. But your shitty captain is going to have plenty to answer for if he plans to go through with this." Sanji growls.

"Sanji is right. Every cook at this restaurant did what they thought was right. That's all there is to say about that." says Zeff. The chefs look to their boss in shock.

"But boss . . .!" Patty protests. "Why are you taking Sanji's side?! This mess is his fault!" The other cooks begin to agree with him.

"He's right! Sanji is responsible for this whole damn thing!"

"Yeah, boss! That man is gonna put your precious restaurant out of business!"

"YOU FOOLS DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Zeff bellows at his staff.

The chefs are shocked at their boss's outburst.

"None of you have any idea what it's like to be on the brink of starvation." Zeff continues. "To have no food or water on the open ocean. There is no way you can possibly understand what a terrifying prospect that is. It's the most difficult situation a man can ever face."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about Chef Zeff." Patty states confusedly.

"The difference between all of you and Sanji is that Sanji knows." Zeff says.

The cooks murmur to each other wondering what Zeff was trying to tell them.

"If all you're gonna do is stand around grumbling, then leave this place and never come back."

Patty's grip tightens around the staff of the large fork he's been holding. "I for one am going to stay and fight! I couldn't live with myself if I accepted defeat!" The rest of the staff join in agreeing.

"I'm staying too! After all, this is our restaurant, isn't it?!"

"That's right. And this place is all I've got too."

Each and every one of the chefs pick up their weapons and ready for a fight to protect their beloved restaurant.

"Looks like everyone is getting fired up to kick that armor guy's ass" Natsu smirks.

"Shishishishi! Looks like it!" Luffy replies laughing in agreement.

Ghin on the other hand doesn't look too thrilled by this. "What are you doing?! You saw how powerful Don is right?!"

"Hey, Ghin." Sanji calls as he takes another drag from his lit cigarette. "Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. Feeding someone who is hungry is my sacred moral duty. But . . .!" The blonde sous-chef kicks a fallen table, sending it somersaulting in the air before planting his heel smack dab in the center of it planting it upright on its legs. "Now that your crew is well-fed I have no obligation to them. With a clean conscience, I can beat every last one of them to a bloody pulp. If anyone tries to take the restaurant they're dead; I'll kill them without a moment's hesitation. Got that?" His cool and collected tone deters the pirate.

A bead of sweat slides down Ghin's forehead as he gulps nervously at Sanji's warning.

Patty scoffs. "You're a real head case, Sanji. Letting 'em live then threatening to kill 'em."

"Can it, cook." Sanji growls.

"See this guy's awesome, huh?" Luffy points to Sanji.

"Who cares how awesome he is?!" Usopp shrieks. "We gotta get out of here right now!"

"Easy there, Luffy." Zoro advises. "It is Don Krieg, but he's in pretty sad shape."

Luffy actually takes time to think for a moment. "Hey, Ghin. You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but I thought you've been there. That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe he's an idiot." Natsu states bluntly.

"NO THAT'S NOT IT!" Grin shouts with shark teeth. Then all of a sudden Ghin gulps nervously and clutches his head in his trembling hands. "Nothing makes any sense now. What happened to us on the seventh day of our journey through that cursed sea . . .I don't know if it was a dream or reality. I saw things that I can't bring myself to believe. I know in my heart that it's impossible for that entire fifty ship fleet . . .to be completely eradicated by a single man."

"A single man?" Natsu questions.

"It all happened so fast. As soon as this man appeared, he began to systematically sink our ships one after another. If that raging storm hadn't come upon us when it did, then that monster would have destroyed our flagship as well." Ghin is trembling just recalling the memory of the incident. "I don't know if a single other ship made it out. It all seems like a terrible nightmare burned into my memory. I just want to forget. His eyes . . .they were like a hawk's; Sharp and murderous. His gaze alone felt like the cold hands of death."

"Well then . . ." Zeff hums. "That can only be the one known as 'Hawk-Eye'. Your description of his heartless gaze isn't proof of his identity in and of itself, but the way he so easily decimated your fleet confirms without a doubt that it's him."

"'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk." Zoro breathes.

"So, you know him, Zoro?" Luffy questions, bending backwards to look up at Zoro.

Luffy's question, breaks Zoro free of his shocked stupor. "Yeah, I do. He's the man I've been looking for. 'Hawk-Eye' is the whole reason I set out to sea." The swordsman explains.

"Could that man have some kind of score to settle with you guys?" Sanji asks Ghin.

"We didn't do anything to him!" Ghin exclaims.

"Perhaps you disturbed him during a nap." Zeff suggests sarcastically

"Or maybe he was just in the middle of going poop?" Luffy guesses stupidly.

"Stupid cook! Why would he destroy an entire fleet for something so trivial?!" Ghin snaps.

"_So no comment on Luffy's poop theory…." _Natsu thinks to himself sweatdropping_. _

Zeff chuckles at Ghin's outburst. "There's no need to shout. It was just an example. I thought you might like a little friendly advice on what kind of a place the Grand Line is."

"And what kind of place is that?" Usopp squeaks.

"They probably mean that anything can there." Zoro mutters.

The swordsman's comment doesn't comfort Usopp in the slightest; The poor boy is in tears.

"Hey Luffy! Do we really, really have to go there?!" Usopp freaks. When he receives no answer, he calls out again. "Luffy?"

Luffy, on the other hand, is trembling with excitement.

"Hey, Luffy?" The sniper calls once more.

Luffy pumps his fist and cheers. "That's so awesome! This is gonna be such a blast!"

"It does sound pretty exciting!" Natsu yells equally as eager as Luffy. "I'm getting fired up!"

"Do you two understand the concept of 'Danger'?!" Usopp shrieks.

"Finally. My life's goal will be achieved on the Grand Line." Zoro tells himself. Usopp whines at Zoro's lack of worry. "My rival . . .He's out there somewhere and I'm gonna find him."

"Are you that stupid?" Sanji question the swordsman. "It's idiots like you guys that end up dead."

"That may be true but lay off the name-calling." Zoro replies. "I devoted my entire life to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. I made my choice, so I'm the only one who gets to call me stupid."

"ENOUGH!" Patty shouts. "Do any of you maggots understand the current situation? That enormous galleon moored in front of our dear little restaurant is none other than Don Krieg's flagship! So why don't we check back into reality and deal with this!"

No sooner than that, the cries and howls of Krieg's restored crewmen ring out. It got quiet all of sudden, but the loud bang of a gunshot cut right through that before the cheering and battle roars as the pirates approach the restaurant.

"Hear that!? They're gonna be here soon!" A chef cries.

"The restaurant is ours and I'll fight to the death to keep it that way!" Another joins in.

All of a sudden a soft whoosh, cuts through the battle cries of the Krieg Pirates. The almost destroyed galleon is sliced apart and begins to capsize causing the Baratie to tilt sharply and sway on the rough waves.

Everyone is shocked at the sudden destruction of the enemy vessel. Don Krieg demands an explanation for what just occurred and one of his men answers that the main ship was cut.

"Raise the anchor or we'll sink along with them!" Zeff orders to a chef as he regains his footing.

"Yes, sir!"

"Hey! Big Bro!"

Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Natsu look over the railing and spot Johnny and Yosaku in water swimming hastily against the turbulent waters to get to the restaurant.

"Oi! What the hell happened to you two? Where's Nami and the Going Merry?!" Natsu demands.

"I'm sorry, Big Bro Natsu." Yosaku cries. "I don't know how to say this but . . .she's gone."

"Big Sis Nami . . ." Johnny begins to sob.

"She took all the treasure and sailed away!" Yosaku sobs with him.

"SHE DID WHAAAAAT?!" The boys shout.

"That man is . . ."

Zoro notices Zeff's frightened gaze at something appearing through the destruction of Krieg's flagship. A small boat, designed like half of a coffin, with a single sail, the bow flanked by two green-flame lit candles and its only occupant sitting on an ornate wooden throne that takes up most of the boat.

"It's him. He's here." Zoro trembles.

Zoro's heart begins to beat a mile a minute at the sight of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

_Dracule 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk_.

**Hey guys I'm back. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been sick for a couple weeks now and after that I've just been busy with school and stuff. I hope you can forgive me for not continuing the story in a while and I'll really try to keep it going when I get a chance. So I hope you enjoyed todays chapter. Give me a review and tell me your thoughts! Love ya guys! See ya next time! :)**


	7. Chapter 6

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Usopp shouts.

"For real?! Nami sailed off with the Going Merry?!" Luffy shrieks.

"I need a straight answer!" Natsu demands. "Now what happened?!"

"Well . . .It only happened in a few minutes." Yosaku goes on to explain what happened while they were onboard the Merry with Nami.

"So that's the story of how Big Sis Nami took the ship." Johnny finishes.

"We're sorry." Yosaku says.

Natsu's anger gets to him punches the restaurant wall in frustration with a flaming fist making a small hole in the wall. "Damn it! She just had to make a bad situation worse! What the hell is her problem?! I always knew there was something up with her since she kept giving me weird looks!"

"So you didn't trust her because she was giving you weird looks but not because she was a thief?" Zoro asked sweatdropping.

"The heartless thief! Kaya gave us that ship!" Usopp seethes as he clenches his fist, trying to keep his own anger in check.

Luffy stand upon the railing of the outer deck searching the horizon for the Merry. "Wait! I see a ship! It's the Going Merry!" He cries out. Luffy then turns from his position to face Yosaku and Johnny. "Tell me where your boat is."

"We have it moored to the restaurant." Yosaku answers.

"Zoro, Usopp, don't just stand there; Take their ship and go get Nami." Luffy orders. "Natsu you're with me."

"Got it Captain!" Natsu grinned recovering from his outburst.

"Calm down. Let her keep the ship." Zoro says without care. "Trust me that woman is way more trouble than she's worth."

"She's the only person I'll accept as the ship's navigator." Luffy states.

It's a stern stare down between Usopp, Zoro, Natsu, and Luffy. Zoro and Usopp look as though they want to argue in Luffy's decision but are quick on the uptake of whatever the captain says goes.

"Fine, I'll do it." Zoro huffs and puts a hand to his head. "You're one high maintenance captain you know that? Alright Usopp, let's go."

"Eh? Okay."

Johnny and Yosaku real in their boat for Usopp and Zoro to board. "The ships ready for action, Big Bro Zoro." The bounty hunter chorus.

"DON KRIEG! THE MAN WHO DESTROYED OUR FLEET IS BACK! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!" One of Krieg's men shouts.

All heads turn to the imposing figure in the small coffin-like boat sailing through the wreckage of Don Krieg's galleon. Out of all of them, Zoro is the most shocked at seeing the man he's been searching for since he set out to sea.

The man was tall, despite his current sitting position, lean, and quite handsome, with black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards. He wears a wide-brimmed black hat with a large plume, a long open black coat showing off his muscular chest, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar, a crucifix pendant strung from around his neck, and light purple pants held up by a decorative belt and tucked into large black boots. But what really gets the most attention are his eyes. They're the color of melted gold. And they're extremely intimidating.

"That's . . .That's him." Zoro gulps with his heart beating a mile a minute. "That man is . . ."

Don Krieg's men are trembling in fear and horror at the mere sight of the newcomer.

Luffy notices Zoro's attention on the newcomer. "Hey. Who's that?"

"That's the man I've been looking for." Zoro answers. "'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk."

"So that's Mihawk." Luffy mutters.

"Yeah. The Greatest Swordsman."

_Woah…. I can tell he is incredibly strong! _Natsu thought to himself. At first he wanted to fight him because of how strong he looked but then remembered that it was Zoro's dream to fight him so he decided against that idea.

"That's gotta be the guy who destroyed Krieg's fleet. He sunk 50 pirate ships out on the Grand Line all by himself." Patty says.

"Looks like he came back to finish the job, but is that all he wants?" Carne adds.

"'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk is a true master. He is without a doubt the greatest swordsman in the world." Zeff says.

"You-You monster!" One on Krieg's men grunt to the man calmly sitting on his boat. "Why are you doing this to us? What the hell have we ever done to you?!"

"Just killing time." Mihawk's replies boredly, with a strong, deep voice.

The Krieg pirate is ticked off at the man's nonchalant answer and aims his guns at the swordsman then fires. "Bastard!"

Mihawk is undeterred by the Krieg pirate's harsh, angry tone and merely raises his famous long black blade and deflects the bullets with the tip of sword, changing their trajectory, with such grace and precision, much like the kind he used to split the galleon the pirates are floating on.

"Woahhhh!" Luffy yells out.

"AWESOME! THAT WAS SO FREAKIN COOL! Ugh it's not fair that Zoro called dibs on him because I really wanna fight that strong guy now!" Natsu shouts out in both astonishment and excitement.

The Krieg pirates are shocked at how the bullets missed their target at such close range. "What? I missed? But I aimed straight for him!"

Zoro suddenly appears behind the man who was stupid enough to try and kill the World's Greatest Swordsman with a measly pistol. "He diverted them."

The Krieg pirates gasp at the green-haired swordsman behind him.

"He changed the course of the bullet using the tip of his sword." He explains.

"That can't be."

Zoro pushes past the Krieg pirates to come face to face with the man he's been searching for and the reason he joined Luffy.

"Hold on. Who do you think you are?" A Krieg pirate demands.

Another pirate takes note of how many swords Zoro's got strapped to his side. "He's got three swords. He couldn't be . . ."

"I've never seen a sword handled so gently or with such grace." Zoro calls from his place on the floating debris of Krieg's galleon.

Mihawk's gaze shifts to Zoro. "There's no strength in swordplay based on force."

"Did you also use that sword to slice up this ship?"

"I did." Mihawk answers easily.

Zoro's eye twitches and his grin grows bigger. "Then, it's true. You're the best!" Zoro places his hand on his prized white sheathed sword. "I set sail for only one reason: To meet you!"

"And what is your goal?" Questions Mihawk.

Zoro unwraps the black bandana from his arm and reties it around his head. "To beat you!"

Mihawk smirks, inclining his head to meet Zoro's fierce gaze, as he lets out something between a scoff and a chuckle. "How foolish."

Zoro unsheathes the Wado Ichimonji and points it at his hawk-eyed opponent. "You've got time to spare right? So let's do this."

The Krieg pirates back away in shock, realizing who the young man standing before them is.

"Whoa, no way! It's him, Roronoa Zoro. It's Zoro of the three-sword style."

"It is!"

"Really? A pirate hunter." Don Krieg mutters.

The chefs on board the Baratie are caught off guard as well.

"He's a what?" Sanji questions.

Slowly Hawk-Eye stands. Only this man could make a simple motion seems so frightening. "A fight? You're a weak, pitiful creature." Mihawk responds to Zoro's challenge. In half a second, Mihawk appears on the large portion of floating debris of the galleon, a few steps where Zoro stands. "If you are in fact a competent swordsman, you should see the asperity in our abilities even before we cross swords. I must ask you, why have you challenged me? Could it be your courage? Or is it simply your ignorance?" The hawk-eyed man mocks.

"My ambition drives me." Zoro declares with pride as he places the white sword in his mouth and unsheathes his two other swords. "Also, I made a promise I intend to keep."

"The greatest swordsman in the world VS Roronoa Zoro. Two masters of swordplay. What kind of fight is this gonna turn out to be?" Patty wonders, as he and the rest of the cooks watch in anticipation.

"There isn't a person alive that can defeat Big Bro!" Yosaku boasts. "He's already the best in the world.

Mihawk then removes his crucifix pendant and removes the end, revealing the necklace doubles as a dagger.

"Funny. What do you think you're gonna do with that?" Zoro comments on Mihawk's weapon of choice.

"It'll be more than adequate. After all you wouldn't kill a fly with a cannon, would you?" Hawk-Eye taunts. "You may have quite the reputation on the East Blue, but that doesn't mean much to me. This sea is by far the weakest of the four." He waves the small dagger around, mocking Zoro further. "Unfortunately, I don't carry any blades smaller than this one."

"I have had just about enough of your attitude." Zoro rushes towards his opponent with the fierce intent to kill. "Now you die!"

But even with his skills, ambition, and his desire to fulfill his promise, it's still nowhere near a match for the skills of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"You have no idea how big the world really is."

"ONIGIRI!"

Just as Zoro's attack was about to come close to slicing Mihawk, all three of Zoro's swords are stopped by the tip of Mihawk's minuscule blade.

Zoro is frozen in shock at his attack being stopped by a blade smaller than a fruit knife.

Those who are watching the fight from the deck of the Baratie look on in even more shock than Zoro is in.

"Zoro!" Luffy and Natsu cry out quietly. Natsu was very shocked at this. He knew Mihawk was strong but he was able to stop Zoro's attack just like that? Natsu now had a bad feeling about what Zoro was getting himself into.

"What?! Big Bro's Onigiri was stopped?!" Johnny exclaims.

"But that's crazy! That attack never fails to stop an enemy!" Yosaku shouts. "What's going on here?!

Zoro breaks his swords free of Mihawk's blade and delivers a flurry of attacks, but each one is countered by the small dagger. The green-haired swordsman can't even get so much as an inch in. Mihawk further gains the upper hand as he knocks Zoro on his back. Johnny and Yosaku's faith in their 'Big Bro' begins to deter as they witness Zoro being toyed with by the hawk-eyed swordsman.

"You can't be that much better than me!" Zoro growls.

Mihawk just looks down upon the beaten-up swordsman. Zoro rushes in once more delivering attack upon attack, but Mihawk merely dodges them or blocks them with his dagger, both actions are performed with an incredible amount of grace and poise.

"Such ferocious swordplay." Mihawk comments as he blocks one of Zoro's swords with his dagger. After a few more of Zoro's attack are delivered, he suddenly freezes and makes a mistake in his attack causing him fall forward and leave himself wide open for Mihawk to strike him with his bare hand on the back of his neck. Zoro struggles some and manages to get back to his feet, but anyone can tell you that he's getting tired. His movements and attacks are becoming sluggish and he can barely stand up straight. The younger swordsman collapse on his back, panting and fighting to regain his composure and continue this rather one-sided fight. What little energy Zoro has is used to aim the harshest glare he can muster at Mihawk.

"What is it then? What weight do you carry upon your shoulders?" Mihawk questions. "Speak up, weakling!"

Yosaku and Johnny are about to jump ship and challenge Mihawk themselves after that comment about how their 'Big Bro' was a weakling, but Luffy holds them back by their heads.

"Don't either of you interfere! Luffy shouts.

Usopp looks at his Captain's angry expression. "Luffy…." he mutters.

"No, I won't lose." Zoro declares as he gets back to his feet. "I refuse to be defeated!" Zoro crosses the blades in his hands with the one held in his mouth and readies all three to swing forth with a descending slash. "TIGER TRAP!"

He lunges forward to bring his swords down on Mihawk, but he doesn't make it two steps when Mihawk's small blade plunges into his chest, a little too close for comfort to the younger swordsman's heart. Blood begins to trickle out of Zoro's mouth, over the hilt of the blade being held between his teeth, and down his neck. And yet, the green-haired swordsman refused to withdraw or budge from his place.

"You are defeated, yet you won't step back. Why not?" Mihawk asks.

"I don't know . . .but I will not run. Even if I retreat a single step, I would be shattering the promises I made. I can't run; I would lose my honor. You see, without that there would be nothing left for me here." Zoro replies.

"That's what defeat is."

Zoro chuckles darkly despite the immense pain he is in. "Then I won't accept it."

"Then, you'll die."

Zoro grins. "I'd rather die than give up."

Zoro's words seem to impress Mihawk, even if it isn't present on his face. Mihawk retreats back a step and removes the dagger from Zoro's heavily bleeding wound before sheathing it and placing it back around his neck. "Sir, state your name."

Zoro raises his swords once more. "I am Roronoa Zoro."

"I'll remember it. No one as strong as you has come around in quite some time." Mihawk reaches behind him and unsheathes the large ornately decorative black sword from the sheath on his back. The long single-edged sword with its ornate, gem encrusted larger than normal crossguard is appropriately named 'Yoru', as the blade is the color of night. "So, as a swordsman's courtesy I'll use the world's strongest black sword to finish you."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." The two swordsmen charge at each other.

"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: . . ."

"Enough Big Bro! Stop it!" Johnny begs.

"FALL!" Mihawk shouts as he swings the black blade.

"THREE THOUSAND WORLDS!"

Though it looks as if nothing happened, something did. It just happens so fast that it takes time to catch up. Zoro falls to his knees with a new wound across his chest as the two swords in his hands shatter to pieces. The younger swordsman has enough sense to remove the only intact blade from his mouth and re-sheath it. Zoro gets up to his feet and hold his arms out, leaving his entire front to Mihawk, vulnerable to an attack.

"But why?" Mihawk queries.

"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame." Zoro replies with a grin even though he knows full well that he's lost.

Mihawk returns the grin. "Fine." He brings down the black blade across Zoro's open front for a final blow. Blood sprays out in every direction from the long wound starting from Zoro's shoulder going diagonally to his waist.

"ZORO!" Luffy and Natsu both exclaim.

"Don't be stupid! Give up your ambition and live!" Sanji shouts.

"Damn you." Luffy growls and stretches his arm across the water to the grip the floating piece of destroyed galleon and goes flying to throw a punch at the older swordsman, but the man steps out of the way of the incoming rubber boy. Luffy crashes head first into part of the destroyed ship.

Natsu then takes this opportunity to interfere as well. He is unable to just sit and watch anymore. "YOU DAMN BASTARD!" Natsu shouts as his fist begins to glow aiming towards Mihawk.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Mihawk raises an eyebrow with his eyes wide. He does look shocked at this but even so just steps aside making Natsu crash into the same spot Luffy did.

Natsu quickly gets up but due to Luffy's rubber body is a bit stuck under the rubble.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH I'LL KILL YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY FRIEND?!"

Mihawk just stares at the ferocious pink haired boy. "Young man. What power do you wield?"

Natsu just stares at him with a serious look. "I'm a Dragon Slayer!"

"_I see. So there is another. _Mihawk thinks to himself.

"Hmph. I see. You do have that dragon like temper of yours. Mihawk says chuckling.

"What did you say?!" Natsu shouts with a tick mark growing on his head.

Luffy is finally able to get himself unstuck and begins to glare at Mihawk.

"However there's nothing to be upset about. Your friend will live."

All the anger and hate drains from Natsu as those words leave Mihawk's mouth. Her eyes widen."Huh?" Natsu questions.

"Big Bro! Say something, please!"

Luffy and Natsu's attention is grabbed by the sound of Yosaku sobbing. They spot the two bounty hunters holding up Zoro in the water.

"Zoro!" The captain and pyro cry. The two watch from the broken galleon as the beaten swordsman is hoisted onto Johnny and Yosaku's boat.

Mihawk sheaths his own blade and looks toward the wounded Zoro. "It's still far too early for you to die." Mihawk shouts to his defeated opponent. "My name is 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk! You're strong, but there is much for you to learn. No matter how many years it takes, I will hold this title as the greatest in the world and wait for you. Until that day you must hone your skills, then seek me out Roronoa Zoro!" Mihawk then turns to Luffy and Natsu. "You two, what is your goal?"

"To be the King." Luffy replies without any hesitation.

"To find my dragon father Igneel." Natsu replies as well with no hesitation.

"Your ambitions are even loftier than your friend's. That's quite a task." Mihawk smirks.

"Yeah, well you just let us worry about that." Luffy sticks his tongue out at the swordsman like the child he really is.

"He's alive. He was just unconscious." Usopp reassures.

Zoro suddenly raises his one sword in the air from his fallen position on the boat. "L-Luffy! Can you hear me?" He grunts out.

"I hear you Zoro!" Luffy calls.

"I'm sorry for disappointing you." The bleeding swordsman pants.

"Luffy . . .I know you need nothing less than the greatest swordsman in the world. I've let you down. Please forgive me." Zoro continues despite coughing up blood and Johnny and Yosaku's protests. "I solemnly swear . . .from this moment forward . . .that I will never lose again!" He sobs. "Until the day comes when I defeat him and take his title I will never, ever be defeated."

"IS THAT OKAY KING OF THE PIRATES!?"

Luffy laughs. "Yup."

"Good team." Mihawk comments and begins to walk away. "I hope to see you three in the future."

And suddenly, like an idiot, Don Krieg confronts the World's Greatest Swordsman as he boards his small coffin boat. "Hey, Hawk-Eye! I was under the impression that you had come here to take my life. Weren't you here to kill Don Krieg, 'Ruler of the East Blue'?"

The thought had crossed my mind." Mihawk admits. "But I've had enough fun for today, so I'm going home to get some rest."

Krieg cracks his neck a few times and chuckles grimly. "I don't care if you've had enough. I haven't even gotten started."

"NOW IT'S TIME TO DIE!" Krieg fires every weapon hidden in his armor at Hawk-Eye.

Mihawk sighs at this. "What a fool. He just won't learn, will he?" Mihawk says as he begins to unsheathe his blade once again.

Mihawk then performs a slash that cuts Krieg's attack short and destroys the decimated galleon further.

Luffy and Natsu then return to the restaurant by Luffy stretching all the way from his place on the debris of the galleon, and Natsu making flames ignite from under his feet flying towards to the deck of the sea restaurant. This causes the sea cooks to freak out at their abilities. Zeff is the only one who remains as calm and collected as always.

"Usopp!" Luffy shouts, still hanging on the rails. "Go on ahead. I'll leave Nami to you!"

"Roger that! Don't you worry about a thing! Zoro and I are gonna get her right back! And make sure you get that cook to join our crew!" Usopp replies with a smile and boisterous confidence. "And then, on the Going Merry we'll all set sail to the Grand Line!" The sniper chucks Luffy's straw hat in the air and its owner happily stretches his arm to nab it.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Luffy and Natsu cheer.

The rubber boy then hoists himself up to face Zeff. "Hey Pops! If I beat the crap out of all those pirates I get out of debt okay?" Luffy asks.

Zeff just shrugs. "Fine."

"Alright! Let's do this! You ready Natsu?" Luffy asks in anticipation.

"Yeah!" Natsu replies back.

"_I'M ALL FIRED UP!"_

**Wow! Over 100 followers! I never expected my first story to go so well! Thank you so much everyone for everything! I hope you enjoyed the Zoro vs Mihawk chapter. Make sure to leave a review on your thoughts on the chapter or just the story overall and I will see you all next time! :D**


	8. Chapter 7

"So, kid, you said you were going to be King of the Pirates. Were you serious?" Zeff questions Luffy.

"Well yeah. Of course. I'm definitely gonna be King of the Pirates someday." Luffy responds.

A wide grin is on Zeff's face. "I've seen a whole lot of pirates in my day, but you're the first to state your desire so clearly and without a doubt."

"Hey, pops! I heard that back in the day you were a pretty awesome pirate yourself! So, did you wanna be King of the Pirates too?" Luffy asks.

Zeff looks to the sky. "I do my best to forget about the past. I'm the owner of Baratie now, and that's quite enough for me." He then shifts his gaze to Natsu. "And did you say you were a Dragon Slayer, boy?"

"Yeah? What's it to you pops?" Natsu asks the old chef.

"Well I've traveled the Grand Line for many years and I have never seen your face before. There are only seven dragon slayers that are known to the world by name so I never expected that there was an eighth one."

"Well who are the others?" Natsu asked eager to learn about the other Dragon Slayers the world had.

"No matter what kind of person they are these pirates have definitely made a name for themselves throughout the seas of the world." Zeff started off.

"BLACKSTEEL GAJEEL"

"LIGHTNING THIEF LAXUS"

"MAIDEN OF THE SKY WENDY"

"VENOM VIPER COBRA"

"SABERTOOTH STING"

"SHADOW PRINCE ROGUE"

"DRAGON KING ACNOLOGIA"

"Woahhhhh…." Natsu said in awe. "Those guys sound so awesome! I really wanna fight them!" Natsu said shaking with excitement.

"However…. The Maiden of the Sky has been proclaimed missing for a couple of months now, Venom Viper gave up the life of the pirate about 5 years ago and now currently works for the World Government, and Acnologia has been in Impel Down for as long as I can remember. That one Dragon Slayer in particular is still a mystery to me even to this day." Zeff says finishing his explanation.

"Can't wait to meet those guys!" Natsu says then punches his palm with his fist. "Because…. I plan to beat every single one of them!" Natsu declares.

Zeff laughs at this. "I like ya. You got guts kid."

Natsu grins. "Thanks old nose hair man!"

"I take that back…." Zeff says with a small tick growing out of the back of his head.

"This restaurant will be a battlefield." Sanji comments as he lets out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. He looks to a fellow cook. "Go to the control room and open up the fins."

"What?! No! That's a bad idea!" The chef argues. "If we do that, we'll be giving the enemy a foothold."

"And that's just fine. We gotta do whatever it takes to keep those guys out of this place." Sanji responds as he pats the walls of the sea restaurant. "If they destroy the inside, then the old man will complain forever."

"Did you just say something, you brat?" Zeff scowls.

"Yeah. I said you're whiney." Sanji replies loud enough for Zeff to hear. "Now go." He orders the other chef.

"Yes, sir."

The Krieg Pirates make the first move, rushing to try and take the restaurant by storm. But Luffy and Natsu quickly counterattack. Luffy launches himself at the band of pirates. "GUM GUM ROCKET!" As he flies through the air, he stretches his arms outward, punching a good number of the pirates and knocking them into the water.

Natsu ran at a bunch of pirates that were getting ready to attack and lit up both of his hands. "FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" As he makes long whip like flames and strikes the pirates down with them making the pirates fly off into the sea on impact.

"Did'ya see that?! Go kids!" A chef cheers us on.

"What the heck is up with those two?" A Krieg pirate protests.

"Yeah, they're crazy!" Another agrees.

"Sanji . . ." Zeff starts. "Pay special attention to how those two fight. Don't take your eyes them for a moment until this fight is over. Is that clear?"

"So, let me get this straight: You're attacking the restaurant that gave you food? I got no choice but to beat some manners into you!" Luffy exclaims to Krieg.

But this only brings Krieg to laughter. "So, you wanna fight on the water where there's no place to stand, huh? A bold move for someone like you. The Devil Fruit has taken your ability to swim, hasn't it chore boy?"

Luffy just grins. "Yup and now . . .I'm stretchy!"

The Baratie starts to emit a loud rumbling sound. Natsu and Luffy turn to see platforms rise up from the bottom of the sea restaurant.

"Now we have somewhere to fight 'em." A chef comments.

Luffy gawks at the sight. "Whoa! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, it really is!" Natsu said in agreement.

"My cooks and I will never give up defending this place; Prepare to die." Sanji announces.

"I see. Good plan bringing up all that extra decking, genius?" Krieg remarks sarcastically. "Now we don't have to take the fight inside. I'd hate to damage my future ship. And make no mistake, it will be mine."

In the fish masthead's mouth three cannons stick out and are aimed at the Krieg Pirates.

"FIRE!" Patty cries.

The cannons fire repeatedly at both the already destroyed galleon and the pirates hanging from it.

The Baratie chefs cheer Patty and Carne on as they continue to rain fire on the enemy pirates and set their sights on Krieg.

"Krieg! Say your prayers! Little did you know that the sea restaurant, Baratie, had such a powerful weapon just waiting to be unleashed!" Patty declares.

All three cannons blasted at the Pirate Commodore with incredible force, but did no damage at all to the egotistical pirate with him wearing that armor, if anything at all, it just pissed the pirate off further. Krieg even has the strength to stop the Mackerel Head-1 in its tracks.

"I AM DON KRIEG! THE MAN WHO WILL RULE THE OCEAN!" He bellows.

"Oh, no you're not!" Luffy cuts in. "I am!" But Krieg pays him no attention.

"I don't have time for these stupid games! Get outta here!" And as if the Mackerel Head-1 was light as a feather, Don Krieg one-handedly lifts and chucks the paddleboat/battleship in the direction of the Baratie.

"It's comin' straight for us!" A chef panics.

"The restaurant! Oh no!"

However, Sanji leaps gracefully into the air and delivers a swift kick knocking the incoming paddle boat from hitting the restaurant. The small ship crashes harmlessly into the other side of the fin platforms with an angered Patty and Carne still in the driver's seats.

Everyone, even Krieg, is in awe at Sanji's display of strength.

"He's got legs of steel!" A Krieg pirate exclaims.

"He kicked back that crazy boat just like it was nothing."

"Sanji! Good job!" A chef praises.

"Woah! That was pretty cool!" Natsu adds.

"Nice kick!" Exclaims Luffy.

Patty and Carne suddenly burst from under the floorboards of the restaurant's fin platforms.

"What's the deal?!" Patty demands.

"Are you trying to crush your friends?!" Carne shouts.

"Yeah, yeah." Sanji passively replies.

"Don't 'yeah, yeah' us, you crazy fool!" Patty yells.

"Stop acting so cool! You wouldn't be so smug if we had been killed, you bucket of backwash!" Carne adds.

Can you damn cooks wrap this up another time? We've got business to attend to." A Krieg pirate mocks.

"Get them!" A cook shouts as he and the rest of the Baratie cooks charge forward. But even with their fervent agenda to protect their restaurant, the Krieg pirates quickly best each and every one of them.

"You guys still don't get it. Even well-armed, you're still just cooks and we're expert fighters that are way out of your league. So, why don't you be good little cooks and run along to a safer restaurant. Maybe one on land, huh?" One Krieg pirate taunts.

"C'mon guys! Why do ya let them beat you up so easily, huh?!" Carne demands.

"And you still call yourselves fighting cooks!" Patty shouts.

"Well these pirates are really good; They're totally different from the ones we've fought before." A wounded chef groans.

"It's insulting to lump us in with that average riffraff." The same Krieg pirate from before says. "We are the great Krieg Pirates and we're the absolute rulers of the East Blue!"

"Let it be known to all, that this garish boat already belongs to the great and powerful Krieg Pirates!" Krieg exclaims.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Sanji counters. "You and your cronies will never set foot in our restaurant!"

"He's right, men!" Zeff agrees.

Patty and Carne then explain how they cared for this restaurant because they could do the two things they greatly enjoyed without fear of being fired: fighting and cooking.

"We like fighting and cooking, so this place is perfect for us." Patty boasts pridefully.

"That's right! There's no other place like this." Carne adds with equal pride.

Patty and Carne's speech riles up the chefs to take up arms and continue to fight.

"Protect Zeff!"

"Protect the restaurant!"

The cooks engage in another round of fighting unaware that a newcomer has just joined the fight.

He lets out a long sigh. "Just what do you guys think you're doing?" He demands.

The newcomer is a towering man, covered in several round iron plates with pearls embedded into them. His head being much smaller than his broad body. He wears a tired and bored expression on his face and has slicked, black hair with a single curl peeking out from under his pearl "hat".

The newcomer lets out a laugh. "Let's do this. But before we begin, it's only fair I give you a warning. I am Pearl: The Invincible Shield!"

"Hey, it's Pearl!" A Krieg pirate cheers.

"Who the hell is this weirdo?" Natsu asks out loud to himself.

Pearl then glares at Natsu for his comment. "I would consider who you are calling a weirdo here, pinky!"

"PINKY!?" Natsu shouts enraged. "THAT'S IT I AM KICKING YOUR ASS!" Natsu shouts as he makes his way running towards Pearl.

"Is that so? I think not." Pearl arrogantly replies. "I'm invincible you see. I've won all 61 of my battles completely and totally unscathed. It's quite remarkable really. No one has ever shed a single drop of my blood in battle. Not a single per—" Pearl's sentence is quickly cut off with a flaming fist right into his face. " FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Pearl is sent flying a few feet before dropping to the ground. He then slowly gets back up to his feet.

As soon as Pearl gets up he is shown to now sporting a bloody nose. A soon as Pearl sees the blood, the Krieg pirates still on the platforms start to panic, telling Pearl to keep calm, and then all hell breaks loose.

Pearl looks ready to cry. "These people aren't just mean, they're dangerous."

Pearl bursts into a fiery rage. He sets himself ablaze with bright white flames coating his shields as well as the entire platform. "Fire Pearls: Special Treat!"

Pearl lets loose several fire coated pearls at anyone and everyone who stood in his way.

"Perish in my flames. With my shields and this inferno, I AM INVINCIBLE!" Pearl bellows as he engulfs Natsu with his fire.

"NATSU!" Luffy cries.

Pearl then smirks and lets out a big laugh. "HAHAHA! HOW DO YA LIKE THAT PINKY!? I TOLD YOU! I AM INVINCIBLE!"

"Ewwww what kind of fire is this?"

"Huh?" Pearl asks.

"This is probably the worst thing I have eaten at this restaurant! I mean really this fire does not taste good at all!" Natsu says as he inhales the fire.

Everyone except for Zeff is shocked at this.

"HUH? HOW!?" Pearl exclaims desperately.

"NATSU YOU CAN EAT FIRE!? THAT IS SO FREAKIN COOL!" Luffy exclaims in excitement.

Natsu lets out a huge smirk and slowly walks over to a shaking cowardly Pearl. "Now I got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out! I think you need a taste of your own medicine!" Natsu says staring at Pearl.

Natsu then take a deep inhale and blows a gigantic burst of flames out of his mouth directly at Pearl.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Pearl gives out a huge scream in pain as he falls onto the ground. "ITS HOT ITS SO HOT! WHY ARE MY PEARLS NOT PROTECTING ME!?" That's when he began to notice something. His pearl armor was melting! "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?" Pearl shouts. The flames began to die down to show a badly burnt with his armor completely gone, his legs shaking in fear of Natsu. "Y-Y-Y-YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Let's finish this!" Natsu yells as he ignites his fist and aims it at Pearl.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Natsu's flaming fist makes contact with Pearl's unprotected stomach, causing him to cough up blood and be sent flying into the galleon wreckage. Pearl was out of commission. The Krieg Pirates then shout and yell as one of their strongest was taken down.

"Well that was easy. I do stand by what I said earlier about him being a weirdo." Natsu says.

"Yeah, that guy sure was goofy." Luffy agrees.

"Very true." Sanji says also in agreement.

All of a sudden, Zeff grunts in pain and draws the three boy's attention as they see him knocked to the floor.

"The battle ends right here." Ghin has his foot planted in the middle of Zeff's back, keeping him down and a pistol aimed at his head.

"Shoot him! Do it now!" Krieg orders. "All we have to do is kill the geezer, then the restaurant will be ours!"

No one then dared moved a muscle in fear of Zeff's brains to be splattered on the doorway of his own dream. Seeing this, an eye widened Sanji shouts.

"_OWNER ZEFF!"_


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey guys I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving spending with your friends and family. Sorry I haven't been updating very frequently I just have much to do. But I don't plan on giving up on this story. Anyways I hope you are all enjoying this story so far. I would like to say thank you so much because this story has received over 100 followers and favorites. Your support means so much to me and gives me all the more reason to continue this story. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I will see you all next time! :)**

No one on board the Baratie moves a muscle in fear of Zeff's life hanging in the balance as Ghin continues to hover the barrel end of the pistol at the old chef's head.

"Ghin!" Luffy exclaims.

"Come on Ghin! Don't do this! You're not like that bastard Krieg!" Natsu yells.

"I don't care how much of a badass he used to be; Now he's just a cook." Ghin says coldly. "I wouldn't have to break a sweat to kill this old fart."

"I'll spare him, but you have to leave." Ghin continues. "Please. Don't make this any harder Sanji, Just leave. Don't force me to kill the both of you!"

"Run away." Sanji huffs as he chews on a new cigarette. "Not a chance!"

Sanji's refusal shocks Ghin.

"You look even dumber at gunpoint, old man." Sanji says to Zeff. "What kind of example do you think you're setting for all the other cooks?"

Even with a gun pointed at his head, Zeff still has the guts to let out a wry chuckle. "I don't need a lecture from a brat like you."

"Would you stop calling me names! Quit treating me like a kid!" Sanji exclaims. The blond chef stuffs his hands back into his pockets before returning his attention back to Ghin. "Ghin! Point that gun at me!"

Sanji's demand startles Zeff, Luffy and Natsu.

"What are you? Stupid?!" Natsu shouts.

"Yeah, what if you die?!" Luffy adds.

"Shut up!" Sanji growls.

"Sanji . . . why you?" Ghin questions.

"This restaurant is that old man's life." Sanji states. "I've already taken everything else that man holds dear. His power. His dreams . . .So, while I'm around, I'm not going to let anything else get taken from him!" He exclaims.

All of a sudden, Luffy stretches his leg high up into the air.

Sanji seeing what Luffy is about to do shouts. "No! Don't! Ghin will shoot the old man!"

"Now…."

"GUM GUM BATTLE AXE!"

The rubber boy brings his foot down onto the fin platform of the Baratie, completely shattering it. All are shocked at Luffy's crazy act, Krieg included. As what just happens sets in, someone finally decides to speak.

"HE DESTROYED THE FIN!" A Krieg pirate shouts.

"He's trying to sink my ship!" Krieg speaks up.

Krieg looks ready to pop a vein. "Ghin! Blow his head off right now!" He orders.

Ghin hesitates to go through with Krieg's order.

"What are you waiting for?!" The pirate commodore demands.

"But he…." Ghin stumbles upon his own words. "He saved our lives when we were starving. He gave us food!"

Krieg is seething up to this point. "GHIN! KILL HIM!"

"Hey!" Luffy cuts in. "I don't see why you're all so upset. I didn't sink it."

"Not yet, anyways." Natsu says snickering.

"Back off, you two. It's not your fight!" Sanji growls as he gets to his feet.

"But I will."

Sanji is taken back by the calmness of Luffy's statement. "What?!"

"I'm going to sink it." He replies with the notion that it's the simplest thing in the world.

Shouts of protest from both the Krieg Pirates and the Baratie chefs sound aloud.

Sanji strides up to Luffy and grabs him by the collar. "You bastard. That's what you're doing?! You can't sink this ship!"

"But if the restaurant's gone there's no reason to attack then, is there?" Luffy reasons.

"Sounds logical to me." Natsu dumbly agrees.

"NO!" The blond cook exclaims. "This ship saved my life! I owe everything to it!" Sanji goes on. "And you will not take that away!"

"You're gonna die for a dumb old restaurant?" Luffy questions. "Are you stupid?!"

"What'd you say?!"

Luffy slaps Sanji's hand releasing his grip on his collar and grabs the young cook by his own collar. "Getting killed?! That's how you wanna repay your debt?! The old man didn't save you could kill yourself. He did it so you could do something with your life, not die like a fool!"

"And so your big idea is to help them attack us?" Sanji counters.

All of a sudden Don Krieg speaks up.

"Ghin! How dare you choose to ignore my orders! You have betrayed your captain and your ship! If you don't kill him right now, you will pay!" Krieg calls out.

"Sanji." Ghin calls out for the man in questions attention. "Look I'm just following orders. I don't want to ruin this ship, but I think it's too late for that."

Sanji laughs. "Maybe, but if you think you're going to this restaurant without killing me you got another thing comin'."

"Sounds fair." Ghin replies. "Then it will be an absolute pleasure to kill you, my good friend."

"Gee, that's comforting . . ." Sanji grunts flatly, as he lights another cigarette. "Asshole." He finishes with a mumble.

"Ghin! It's your job to take care of that cook. I'll handle the little boy. That straw hat brat is all mine!" Krieg orders with an ugly smirk.

"I understand. Yes, Don Krieg." Ghin replies.

"Hey, brat." Don Krieg calls out to Luffy.

"Hm?" Luffy faces the man.

"You can try your abilities on me, but I've seen it all before and have never been defeated by such trickery. When you experience the full force that conquered the entire East Blue, then you'll understand the meaning of power." Krieg says cockily.

"Your voice is getting on my nerves." Luffy says glaring at Krieg. "I'm gonna kick your ass, it's as simple as that." Luffy states seriously before his expression morph into a shit-eating grin at Krieg's annoyed sneer. "Hold on just a second; I'll be right there."

"The impudence!" Don Krieg scorns.

Sanji and Ghin's fight is neck and neck, they match each other blow for blow. Just when you think one's about to finish the other, they find some way to slip out. Ghin then has Sanji pinned by the neck with one of his tonfas while his spins around the other one gaining momentum to smash Sanji's head in. But the blond Casanova sous-chef retaliates by spitting his still lit cigarette into Ghin's face, distracting him enough to slip under the tonfa against his neck and land a fierce kick to Ghin's head. Ghin goes down, but not before delivering one last blow to Sanji's chest.

Both sides are silent as they just soak in the aftermath of the fight. The Krieg Pirates comment in disbelief how Sanji managed to kick Ghin in the head and question if their chief commander is still alive. Don Krieg is quick to squash his crews' queries, saying that there's a reason why he's his most trusted crew member above all others and that he's never one to quit.

During the brief pause in Sanji and Ghin's fight, Luffy takes the opportunity to go after Krieg, who has been merely observing from his sitting position. With a loud battle cry, Luffy runs across the long mast that acted as a bridge between the Baratie's destroyed fin platform and the debris of Don Krieg's galleon. Krieg doesn't flinch as he still remains in his sitting position but pulls out what looks to be a small steel orb and chucks it into the water just below where Luffy is about to step next. Whatever the sly pirate threw caused an explosion just beneath Luffy's position on the mast. Then, through the guise of the explosion, one of Krieg's hidden guns on his shoulder fires at Luffy. Because of Luffy's Gum-Gum power the shot did no damage, but it did cause Luffy to come flying back to the start of the no further broken mast.

Krieg laughs at Luffy's failed attempt.

Luffy slams his treasured straw hat on the ground in front of him. "You're a bastard! Don't you wanna fight me?!"

"'Fight you?'" Krieg repeats. "Do I really have to? If all I want to do is kill you then that's enough for me. I really don't have any patience for your stupid games, little fool."

"Oh, yeah?" The rubber boy stretches his cheek in a mocking manner at Krieg. "How about I bite your head off?!"

The sound of a blow landing draws everyone's attention.

"Sanji!" Natsu shouts.

Sanji is kneeling on the deck clutching his side and bleeding heavily from his mouth, some of which is now painted on one of Ghin's tonfas.

"Woo-hoo! Pulverize the rest of them!" A Krieg pirate shouts.

"Yeah, what he said!" Another joins in.

"What was that? Your pity? I'm not dead yet!" Sanji exclaims as he cartwheels out of the way of Ghin's attack and brings his foot down on Ghin's head once again causing him to kiss the platform.

Crack!

It doesn't take a doctor to know what that sound means. Sanji's ribs finally gave out under the intense strain and he collapses.

While Sanji is down, Ghin stands and takes the opportunity to hold Sanji down by his neck and finish him off.

The Krieg Pirates, without uttering a word, are smiling at their chief commander's sure fire victory.

"Damn it! Sanji!" Natsu shouts as he runs towards both Ghin and Sanji getting ready to kick Ghin's ass to save Sanji but then—

_**Drip! Drip**_!

Natsu then stops at his place as he notices something he didn't expect to see.

Ghin was crying.

He sobs softly as his hand holding the tonfa that could do the blond cook in, begins to tremble in his grip.

"I can't…." Ghin groans through clenched teeth. "I can't obey your order. This man saved my life. I CAN'T DON KRIEG! I WON'T DO IT!"

Don Krieg isn't the least bit happy about Ghin's defiance of his orders.

"I CAN'T! I'M SORRY, CAPTAIN!" Ghin continues to sob.

"What did you say?!" Krieg demands.

"I WON'T DO WHAT YOU WANT! He treated me with such respect, decency, and kindness. That's why I can't bring myself to kill him! Don Krieg I've always been loyal to you. Up till now, I've believed in what we've done. I respect and appreciate all that you've given me. Trusting me as your Chief Commander was the honor of my life! Until this very moment, I have obeyed every single order you have given me without questioning it. I can't live with myself if I kill this man, and I cannot break my oath! Please, I beg you, let me disobey just this one order. Please? Don Krieg listen. Can't we just leave? They can keep the restaurant for themselves."

Don Krieg quickly straightened up and lets out an angry bellow. "You little son of a bitch! You think you can defy my orders and then tell me what to do?!"

Ghin remains silent and doesn't even try to defend himself.

"It's pathetic." Don Krieg continues. "Morality, sympathy. Weaknesses I never expected to see from you." The Pirate Commodore removes one of the large circular plating from his shoulder and attaches it to his armored glove. "You are not my chief commander anymore!" Krieg aims the shoulder plating at the restaurant the Krieg Pirate jolly roger painted on its face opens up to reveal a small barrel of some kind of cannon. "Step aside men."

"NO! NOT THE GAS!" Ghin exclaims.

The floating Krieg Pirates in the sea go into a panicked frenzy and begin screaming about the MH-5 poison gas. The pirates begin to scramble for their gas masks.

"The only thing that matters in a battle is who ends up winning, even if more have got to die." Krieg smirks. "Poison gas is just a means to an end. Victory is all that decides what's right and what's wrong. If your dead nobody's gonna hear you complain anyway. When you don't hesitate to do unspeakable horrible things, that is true power."

Luffy growls in fury, as does Natsu.

"He's insane." Sanji mutters.

Ghin then starts to reach into his jacket and pull out the same gas mask as the other Krieg Pirates.

"Might as well throw that gas mask away!" Krieg yells. "You're no longer worthy to be a Krieg Pirate. Die!"

Luffy rushes across the broken mass to try and stop Krieg. "I'm not gonna let that happen you bastard!"

"You're wasting your time chore boy!" Krieg shouts and with a single fist he breaks the part of the mast closest to him causing the rubber boy to lose his footing, leaving him wide open to another one of Krieg's hidden weapons. These ones being green and yellow striped spiked stakes shooting out from the edges of the gas launcher. Neither wanting to be skewered or drowned, Luffy is forced to retreat back to the Baratie.

"Ghin!" Luffy grunts. "You don't have to listen to that blowhard. Because I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"Ghin, think about this! Do you really want to follow what that asshole is telling you!?" Natsu shouts. "Just let my captain handle him!"

"No! My captain cannot be defeated! Don Krieg is the strongest man alive and I respect his punishment." He states.

"Will you please snap out of it?!" Sanji snaps. "He's going to kill you!"

"I deserve it." Ghin explains. "Obeying my emotions meant betraying my captain. If I were in his position, then I would have done the same thing. And now, death is the only honor I have left." He chucks away his mask and it falls into the sea.

"DON'T!" Luffy and Natsu exclaim.

"So, you've remembered your place, but it's much too late for that. Now you will all die together." Krieg sneers. "It's the MH-5 Poison Gas Bomb! FIRE!" The poison gas is launched with a loud bang. Pirates and cooks proceed to take cover either under the water, or, in Zeff, Patty, and Carne's case, inside the Baratie. Luffy manages to snatch a few masks and throws them at Natsu, Sanji and Ghin. When Luffy is about to get a mask of his own he doesn't seem to find any more.

"Oh crap! I don't have a mask!" Luffy says in a panic. But all of a sudden a mask is put on Luffy's face when the poison finally spread. Once the poison finally clears Luffy is shocked to see Ghin without a mask as it turns out Ghin gave Luffy his own mask.

"GHIN!" Luffy's shouts.

Ghin's entire face was purple. He fell to the ground and started coughing up blood. Thankfully Zeff suggested to Patty and Carne to put the gas mask on him to let him breathe as much oxygen as possible in order to try to save his life.

"LUFFY!" Natsu shouts in anger. "YOU BETTER KICK HIS ASS!"

"Right!" Luffy says.

"Wait a second, attacking him head on is exactly what he wants; He's strongest that way!" Sanji shouts.

"I'm not worried. Go ahead and give it your best shot!" Luffy shouts.

Luffy charges in after Krieg.

"Don't!" Sanji tries to reason, but Luffy is already making his way across the broken mast.

"Dumb kid, when you lose your patience you become easy prey." Krieg smirks. "You are only running toward one thing, chore boy. And that is…." The Pirate Commodore reaches into his armor and pulls out more of the same small black orbs and throws them into the water. "...Your funeral."

The orbs cause more explosions as they hit the ocean causing a gushing wall of water to come up between Luffy and Krieg. Krieg uses the shielding to fire the spiked-stakes from his armor shield and Luffy takes a few hits.

When Krieg sees Luffy still coming right at him he pulls out a metal-spiked net to protect himself.

"GUM GUM PISTOL!"

Luffy manages to break through iron net landing a hit to Krieg's face, but not without some damage to his own fist in the process. Don Krieg goes down to the ground with a thud that felt as if it could be heard from miles away. Silence is all that's heard, as everyone begins to soak in what just happened.

"Don Krieg is down!" A Krieg Pirate yells. "That punk got him!"

"What is that kid anyway?"

"He punched him right through the spikes!" A cook exclaims.

"That's messed up." The Krieg Pirates continue conversing.

"I've never seen him get hit in any kind of fight, EVER!"

"He busted right through that porcupine cape and smashed him right in the face!"

"I can't believe it!"

Luffy takes this pause in the fight to remove the stakes that managed to strike him. "So, is this my funeral or yours? You can't kill me with little spikes! My funeral will take more than this! You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me because I don't think it's time for me to die just yet." He finishes with a grin.

"That guy is nuts…." Sanji speaks up.

Zeff glances at the blond chef, then returns his gaze to the ongoing fight. "I've seen one or two like him before. They would rather die than have to turn away from a fight once it's started. I'm glad he is with us because people like him are hell to fight. I don't care if he wins or loses; I consider it an honor just to be able to watch him."

Krieg suddenly regains consciousness and stands up. He rams his shield into Luffy and fires a projectile, telling him to go to hell. But Luffy manages to dodge it as he leaps overhead.

"YOU FIRST!" Luffy counters by latching his foot against Krieg's shoulder and pulling him off his feet and lands on his back.

Onlookers shriek in disbelief as Don Krieg is knocked down once more. The Krieg Pirates start to wonder whether their captain is really invisible and question just what Luffy is. The cooks begin to cheer for Luffy. But Krieg doesn't look to be down for the count just yet.

"SHUT UP, MAGGOTS! NEVER DOUBT ME!" He takes his other shoulder plate and presses it together with the first one. A staff is extended from the bottom half and a sharp spear tip erects from the other end. Krieg brings the weapon down to strike Luffy. It misses but the terrifying thing was that when the spear tip made contact with the piece of galleon debris the two are standing on it caused an explosion.

"What was that?" Sanji questions in disbelief in what he just saw.

"Now what? You gonna try to hide from me?" Krieg demands as he throws off his fur-lined cape. "Alright then, boy. This should be fun. My mighty Battle Spear; It's different from the one I was fighting with earlier. When this thing hits you, you won't just be wounded and flailing, YOU WILL BE BLOWN STRAIGHT INTO HELL!" Krieg brings down the spear destroying the debris further and sending Luffy flying.

Luffy manages to propel himself onto a tiny scrap of ship before he can fall into the water. But then he doesn't appear to get to stand fully upright and holds the broken railing of the floating debris he's on for support.

Krieg grins at the turn of events. "You look tired. Too bad. Guess you should have saved a little more energy." He leaps onto the rubber boy's part of the ship and swings the giant spear every which way to get a blow in, but Luffy manages to dodge. Krieg's swinging drives Luffy closer to the edge of the floating portion of the ship. Luffy leaps into the air to avoid another strike from the spear, but Krieg takes this chance to try and skewer Luffy while he's in midair. Luffy gets out of the way by latching onto the spear's staff end. This pisses off Krieg further as he tries to shake Luffy off his weapon. He succeeds, sending Luffy flying into the air and as he comes back down Krieg is ready to drive that spear right through the rubber boy. Luffy somehow manages to prevent the spear from skewering him, but the explosion is still set off and Luffy is the one knocked down this time. His body is burnt turning his skin into a sickly grey color.

As Luffy stands, Krieg begins to mock him.

Sanji is now worried that Luffy won't be able to take any more hit and still be able to get back up. Zeff and Natsu think otherwise.

"Don't look so worried." Natsu says quickly and without any doubt.

"Even with a hundred, thousand more weapons, he can still bring him to his knees. Because he does not know fear." Zeff says.

As Krieg brings down the spear for another hit, Luffy retaliates and takes another explosion, but again, he gets right back up as Krieg had begun to walk away, thinking the fight was over.

"Stand or fall, life or death. In a struggle for your very existence, cannot even have the slightest bit of fear or you will be lost." Zeff speaks.

"What are you talking about?" Sanji questions.

"That kid out there . . ." Zeff continues.

Luffy takes a third explosion.

" When he's fighting, he's not afraid of anything. Not even death. Same goes for that pink haired kid."

"Oi!" Natsu says slapping the air.

BOOM!

A fourth explosion.

"Is it just instinct or all a plan? We'll know soon, if he lives." Zeff continues.

"What plan?" Sanji wonders. "Killing himself?"

Luffy still gets right back up and Krieg looks like he is about ready to pop a vein.

The cooks roar with encouragements.

Krieg goes in for another attack, bringing about yet another explosion.

"There is no doubt that Krieg and his pirates are strong, but chore boy has something that they'll never have. Krieg may have more pirates at his command than anyone else before him. He may have terrible weapons that cause mass destruction to everything in his path. But he will never have that kid's heart." Zeff finishes.

Luffy still stands and it looks like he did have a plan to take care of that spear. The spear tip shatters into tiny pieces.

"What?! My Battle Spear! What the hell did you do?!" Krieg demands.

"I just punched it in the head five times." Luffy explains with a grin. "It looks tired, maybe it needs a rest." He mocks.

"_**Now it's my turn."**_


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year! I have been very busy with family stuff for the holiday season so I haven't had much time to write but fear not! I am not dead yet! This will be the final chapter of the Baratie arc so I really hope you enjoy the new chapter! I really can't wait to continue this story as I have so many future ideas for it! So please make sure to leave a review on what you think of the new chapter or just the story overall and enjoy the newest chapter to The Straw Hat's Pyro!**

Even though he's been battered and burnt, Luffy smirks proudly as he has, yet again, managed to get past another one of Krieg's weapons.

"You ready for this?" The rubber boy taunts. "Because that was all I needed. Now that your little toy's broken you're nothing to me."

Krieg's eyebrow twitches slightly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Without the blade, it's just a bomb-on-a-stick. And let's face it, that's pretty lame."

"You think so?" Krieg questions.

"Sure do." Luffy replies.

Now Krieg's got a smug look on his face. "Fine. So, what if it is just a bomb-on-a-stick. You're in a bad shape, kiddo. I think it'll be more than enough to blow you to pieces. Y'know, it sounds to me like this is some sort of pathetic attempt at a bluff."

"Okay, but you're wrong?" Luffy cracks back.

"Just give up. You're defeat is imminent." Krieg lifts up what's left of his Battle Spear. "You see when you defied me, you signed your own death warrant!"

"Nuh-uh." Luffy childishly sticks out his tongue at the Pirate Commodore.

Krieg charges at Luffy and is about to bring down the broken Battle Spear onto the rubber boy, but miraculously, even heavily wounded, Luffy finds the energy to stretch his arms to grab the yard of a broken mast.

"Hey, up here!" Luffy mocks Krieg while swinging above him.

Krieg doesn't take kindly to being mocked and brings his weapon down upon the base of the mast causing it to fall.

The portion of the yard Luffy is clinging to breaks off, but the rubber captain has a better idea how to use it. He hurls the yard piece at Krieg, but the cheating pirate has another trick up his sleeve. A flamethrower attached at the wrist!

"How many weapons does that guy have?!" Sanji and Natsu exclaim.

Krieg's flamethrower burns the incoming projectile into ashes.

Though Luffy's idea didn't have the results he wanted, he still keeps on fighting. "Now GUM GUM GATLING!" The multitude of punches strike Krieg's armor blow for blow, but none do any damage and leave Krieg unharmed.

Krieg laughs at Luffy's failed attempts and continues to mock him. "Weakling! What exactly did you expect to happen, boy? I'm wearing wootz-steel body armor. This stuff is practically indestructible. You don't stand a chance boy!" He shouts down. "Real power comes from deadly weapons. They're the source of true strength. See, only the strong are meant to live and that's me!"

"I really want to turn this guy into barbecue so bad." Natsu grunts behind clenched teeth.

"Yeah, that's what you think!" Luffy exclaims as he dashes up the mast. "GUM GUM….

"It's useless!" Krieg barks. "Foolish pride will only get you so far!" He brings down his weapon on Luffy once more, but the rubber boy keeps up his strides without even flinching.

"...BAZOOKA!"

Luffy's attack successfully connects with Krieg, but the previous explosion stuns Luffy into a stand still. With this sudden halt, Krieg uses this opening to fling more of his exploding marbles.

"That's it?! After all that big talk, that's all you got?!" Krieg bellows. But the pirate commodore's laughter is cut short as his armor begins to crack. However, Krieg isn't too worried as the marbles come into contact with the ocean below it causes a massive explosion to surround Luffy.

"It's a trap! Get out!" Sanji warns. But his warning comes a little too late.

The blast causes the onlookers still in the water to get caught in the shockwave.

Natsu just laughs at this.

"Why the hell are you laughing?!" Sanji shouts angrily. "Can't you see that your captain is losing?!"

Natsu just looks at Sanji and smirks. "If I was so worried about Luffy losing to a jerk like that then there would be no way I could call him my captain!" Natsu says laughing again and then looks back up to look at the battle.

Sanji just stares at Natsu with wide eyes and without saying anything looks back to the fight as well.

All of a sudden Luffy rises from the smoke with a huge grin on his face. To see that Krieg is shocked when the rubber boy burst through the billowing smoke is an understatement. Luffy's arms stretched and ready for another attack.

"GUM GUM BAZOOKA!"

As his hands slam into Krieg's armor, this time it crushes the thing entirely. With Luffy's win, the cooks and Natsu burst into cheers.

"I TOTALLY WIN!" Luffy cheers as well.

But the sweet taste of victory turns sour when all of a sudden….

"THIS ISN'T OVER YET, BOY!" In a last-ditch attempt to accomplish victory, he traps Luffy in a weighted steel net, trying to drag him down into the ocean.

Krieg laughs at his own dirty trick as Luffy struggles to get out of the net before they both hit the water. "You can't escape; It's a steel net!" The two are approaching the water real fast. "It's over! That's the ocean down there below us! It looks like I'll be getting the last laugh after all, chore boy!"

The Krieg Pirates cheer for their captain's sure-in victory, but Luffy is not phased in the slightest. In fact, he looks rather happy to be caught. He squeezes his arms and legs through the gaps of the net. Using his feet and legs, he stretches them out while twisting them and grabs ahold of Krieg's head by his feet.

"Time for me to end this right now!" Luffy exclaims. "GUM GUM HAMMER!" As Luffy's legs quickly unwind, with Krieg still in his grip, he hurls the pirate still spinning pirate to crash land on the destroyed Baratie fin. The fight is finally won, and the cooks and Natsu cheer even louder than before. The fight is Luffy's win, but everyone seems to have forgotten Luffy's a Devil Fruit user, so he no longer has the ability to swim.

"Oh shit!" Natsu suddenly realizes with wide eyes.

"Huh? What is it?" Sanji asks.

"Luffy is a Devil Fruit eater! So he can't swim!" Natsu exclaims.

"WHAT? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER?!" Sanji shouts before he and Natsu both go diving in after the rubber pirate.

Halfway through the deep dive for Luffy, Natsu suddenly stops moving and makes a weird face. Sanji notices this so he grabs Natsu and dives further down for Luffy. Finally Sanji manages to grab Luffy and carries the two pirates up from the water and onto the Baratie deck.

When Sanji found out Luffy was just sleeping and not dead he turns to a green faced Natsu that seemed to be throwing up into the ocean blue (or ocean green now I guess). "Hey what the hell was that back there?" Sanji asks.

"Oh right, I forgot…. I can only swim in the ocean for so long before I get really really sick." Natsu says meekly.

"What the hell? That's pretty weird." Sanji says.

"You're telling me…." Natsu groans.

Afterwards Gin departs from the Baratie with the rest of the beaten Krieg pirates and sets off and apologizes. After that with Luffy and Natsu up and rested they join the other cooks for a celebratory meal.

With Luffy and Natsu shoving all the food they can into their mouths, they hear someone shout.

"Hey! What is this? Who prepared the soup this morning?" Patty suddenly yells as he rises from his seat at the table.

Sanji starts to wave his hand in the air with a prideful smile. "Oh, I did! The stuff is pretty good, huh? I think I really outdid myself!"

Patty, on the other hand, doesn't share Sanji's liveliness of the dish. "Is that a joke? I can barely hold this slop down!" He sputters and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand in disgust.

The blonde chef looks ready to pop a vein.

"I thought someone like you would like slop. It makes sense to me seeing as that's what pigs like." Sanji tries to defend his culinary creation by insulting Patty.

"Ha! Just face it Sanji, your soup sucks! It's disgusting!" Patty gives a thumbs down.

Sanji strides calmly towards the other chef. "That soup is nothing short of a delicacy. There's something wrong with your taste buds."

Soon after, Carne joins in on the insulting. "That's gross!"

"I can't eat this!"

"Peh! Peh! Revolting!"

"This soup is horrible!"

The insults keep coming, as does the sounds of spoons being forcefully slammed onto the table.

"What the hell's going on, you bastards?!" Sanji demands.

"We're sick of the way you run things. You're a sham of a sous chef and everybody knows it!" Patty continues to insult Sanji, now backed by the rest of the cooks.

"You can't just settle every single little disagreement with violence."

"If the food's bad, then we're gonna say so."

Sanji growls in anger, ready to blow up any second now. "What'd you say?!"

Zeff, who has been calmly sitting down since the start of the dispute, continues to slurp up his soup with an unreadable expression. "Don't forget that we're seafaring cooks, so you better not waste one single drop of that soup." Once every last drop of soup from his bowl has been devoured, he shocks everyone with what he does next. As they wait to hear the old chef's opinion of his protégé's dish, Zeff flings the empty bowl onto the floor, shattering it to pieces.

Sanji freezes in shock.

"BOSS!" The chefs cry out.

"Geezer." Sanji snarls.

"That wretched little dish tasted like stewed garbage. If we ever serve that kind of trash here we'd go out of business." The old chef insults.

In a fit of rage, Sanji nabs Zeff by the collar. "Are you really this stupid? Just how is my soup any different from the stuff you make. How?!"

Zeff chortles. "You think they're the same? Don't flatter yourself." Zeff raises his hand and punches Sanji across the face.

"The boss punched him!" Patty exclaims in shock.

"He didn't kick him!" Carne adds in disbelief.

Sanji glares up at Zeff from his spot on the floor, clutching the side of his face that was struck.

"You think you can lecture me about the art of cooking?! Do ya?! Fat chance! I'm a man who has cooked on more seas than days that you've been alive!" He tells Sanji.

The two chefs glare at each other, before the younger gets to his feet and storms out of the restaurant like a child throwing a tantrum.

As soon as Sanji left, Natsu goes over and tries the soup. "WOAH!" This stuff is so good!" Natsu exclaims while shoving more of it into his mouth. "The heck is wrong with you guys? This soup rocks!" Natsu says.

"Yeah, what's all the fuss about? This soup's totally awesome!" Luffy comments as he tries some too.

"All of us know the soup is good." Zeff replies.

"Huh?" Luffy and Natsu look at the head chef confused.

"I know he's an outstanding chef. Everyone here on the Baratie does."

"Yeah, he's great."

"Aside from Chef Zeff, he's the best we got."

The chefs continue to praise Sanji.

"That was scary, wasn't it? He seriously snapped."

"But that thick-skulled idiot wouldn't listen to us if we tried to reason with him. Hey, listen. You were saying that you needed a cook for your ship, right?" Zeff asks Luffy. "Well this isn't something I want to be asking anyone, but would you mind taking that little brat along with you? Take him to the Grand Line. That would be best for him. Finding the All Blue is his dream." Zeff smiles.

Patty and Carne begin to joke around saying they were worried if Sanji would figure them out which then leads the two to laugh about who was the more terrible actor. The rest of the cooks go for some more of Sanji's soup and truly praise it for the delicious dish it is.

"So, what do ya say, kids?" Zeff asks.

"No way." Luffy replies bluntly.

"But earlier you mentioned you needed a cook for your ship. Just what are ya trying to say? That he's suddenly not good enough for you all?"

"It's Sanji's decision. I can't force someone's will to join." Luffy simply replies.

"Well I agree with you but damn it! I really wanna eat more of his food! He's also really cool…." Natsu glooms.

"So, what you're saying is that you can't agree to it until he tells you himself." The old chef strokes his braided mustache.

"Yep." Luffy replies.

"Well I suppose that's fair enough, but who knows if that hard-headed little brat will ever agree to join up with ya."

"Yeah. Once that guy makes up his mind there's nothing anybody can do to change it." Patty says.

Crash!

Out of nowhere, a really big something crashes into the restaurant. As the smoke clears, the 'something' turns out to be a PanShark with Yosaku's lower body stuck in its jaws and Sanji lying under the big fish. Everyone rushes to help the two men in this odd situation.

"Sanji!"

"What is that?"

"A fishman?"

"Did he come all the way from Fishman Island?"

Natsu suddenly helps Yosaku off of the shark. "Oi! Yosaku! What the hell happened to you?"

Oh, hey Big Bro Natsu and Big Bro Luffy…." The man greets meekly.

"How come you're alone? Where're the others?" Luffy questions. "Did you find Nami?"

Yosaku is then wrapped in a blanket and fed some soup as he begins to explain what went on when he went off with Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny.

"We never actually caught up to her, but from the direction Big Sis is heading we think we figured out where she's heading and what she plans to do."

Luffy listens with intent to Yosaku's explanation. "I see. Then we can bring her back."

Yosaku doesn't seem to share Luffy's optimism about recovering their Navigator. "Maybe…. It's just that if our suspicions turn out to be true, then the place she intends to go could mean certain death for all of us if we follow her."

Luffy and Natsu stare confused.

"The point is…." Yosaku continues. "We really need your help Big Bro Luffy, Bis Bro Natsu. Please! Come with me!"

"Okay. I don't really get it, but I got it." Luffy responds. "Let's go."

"I don't get it either but if it's dangerous then that means it's much more fun!" Natsu says smiling wide with no fear in his eyes.

With that said, the rest of the group began to make way to the small boat the Baratie offered them.

"Wait." They are then stopped by Sanji, who was taking a smoke during all the ruckus and stares at both Natsu and Luffy. "Your dreams are foolish. Then again, so is mine. Now's a good time as any. Why not start my quest right now?"

"Sanji?" Luffy tests the waters, wondering if Sanji is serious about his decision.

"I'll be joining your little crew on your journey to be King of the Pirates. You hear me? I wanna be the cook on your ship. Alright? What'd ya say?"

Luffy's face burst into a wide grin. "YEAH! OF COURSE!"

"AWESOME! WELCOME TO THE CREW SANJI!" Natsu shouts excited to have the blonde chef on the crew.

"This is great, Big Bro Luffy!" Yosaku exclaims.

Luffy, Natsu, and Yosaku begin to dance around celebrating the newest addition to the Strawhat crew. Sanji turns to face his fellow cooks asking them if they were happy now. Patty remarks his disappointment in not giving Sanji the boot himself. The blonde chef retorts sarcastically that he made them resort to bad acting. This surprises them, not realizing that he heard every word of their earlier discussion. Patty is ready to jump into a fight, but Zeff holds him back. The head chef and his protégé start their own squabble, but if you really paid attention you could see that they do care for each other deeply.

As the cooks then ready Sanji's boat for departure, Luffy and Natsu are practically cleaning out the Baratie's fridge of all their meat and Luffy denies Zeff's offer of his logbook saying that they didn't need it.

Pretty soon, Luffy, Natsu, and Yosaku are all on the boat watching Sanji as he soon follows carrying his personal belongings and cooking supplies. But he doesn't even make it two steps out the door before Patty and Carne come charging at him from both sides.

"Now it's payback time!"

"Here it comes, Sanji."

Sanji is not bothered in the slightest. In a quick, swift motion, the blond chef kicks down the two cooks without breaking a sweat.

"Really, guys? That was just dumb." A chef berates the two.

Sanji strides pass the chefs, without a word, until he reaches his small ship with Luffy, Yosaku, and Natsu as his passengers. "Let's get going."

"You don't need to say 'goodbye'?" Luffy asks.

Sanji smiles. "No, it's fine."

"Sanji." Zeff calls from the third level balcony of the Baratie. "Don't catch a cold."

That is what does it for Sanji, as his emotions get the better of him and tears begin to flow out.

"OWNER ZEFF!"

Sanji is now on his knees bowing his head in thanks to Zeff. "Thanks, you geezer. I'll never forget your kindness. I owe you my life to you, old man, so thank you!" He sobs. All the other chefs, Zeff included, are now crying as well.

"Damn wusses. Real men should part without a word, let alone tears." Zeff says as he wipes his own tears.

"LET'S GO! SET SAIL!" Luffy shouts.

"I will see you again! I'll come back someday!" Sanji promises to the waving chefs. And just like that with the help of a new member they set off towards Arlong Park to get Nami back.

**Meanwhile at Arlong Park**

Nami is seen walking up to Arlong Park after she beats a kid up for trying to fight the Fishman for killing his father. After he is on the ground Nami just throws a wad of cash on his body as the boy cries. Nami opens the gate to face Arlong himself.

"Well if it isn't our wonderful navigator Nami!" Arlong shouts and laughs. "How was the haul today?"

"Easy as pie! Pirates are so easy to trick after all." Nami replies with an evil look on her face.

"HEY GUYS NAMI IS BACK!" Arlong yells and all of the Fishman have a party at Nami's return.

"Gihihhihi. Hey guys! Guess who is also back?" A new voice comes through as a new figure enters Arlong Park with an equally evil smile on his face.

Arlong just looks and smiles. "Well if it isn't the only other human in the world that I don't hate!" Everyone else looks at the new presence and smiles but Nami just glares at him.

Arlong laughs. "Glad to have you back…."

_**Gajeel.**_


End file.
